


I Found Somebody

by dratinigirl



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Gen, Original Character(s), Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-03-04 23:51:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 96,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3097160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dratinigirl/pseuds/dratinigirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blaise is a young arraneum, a type of creature built as a human to the hip, morphing the body of a giant spider. Abandoning the rest of his people for life as a hermit, he lives alone in the woods for two years. Until one day , a hunting excursion brings Blaise face to face with a woman named Louise. A naga, her body dissolves from a human woman's to that of a serpent below her waist. With winter fast approaching, the pair form a  tense alliance. However, given time, their partnership will turn into a bond that tests their strength of trust, of will, and of hope in the world around them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! Thank you so much just for clicking this! This is an original work written by myself back in late 2012 to mid 2013, and now I'm finally deciding to buff it out, change some plot details, and work it into the piece of art that I know it can be. The entire rough draft is done, and has gone through a polishing once before, but not as intense as this. Updates should be frequent as there isn't too much to be done to the source material (until close to the end, where the climax and ending need to be completely rewritten.)

Fog rolled through the crevices of the mountains, tucking the trees from the clouds above and coating the life within the forest in mist. The blanket reflected the orange streaks of the sun as it crawled into the sky, driving away creatures of the night. The silent forest began to burst with volume, birds chiming and cheeping as the light forced their eyes open. Light passed through the fog as it began to dissipate, illuminating a hammock that hung tied between two trees. It was enveloped in morning light, as was its sole occupant.

However, as much as the sun called, the creature within didn’t care to be bothered. The cry of birds rattled between his ears, the light of the sun pulled at his eyelids, and only after minutes of resistance did he give in. The young man pulled his heavy head up, a yawn rolling out of his throat and off of the end of his tongue. He stretched out his limbs, one by one, exiting the hammock. The branches around him carried his weight, thick beneath his feet. He descended one of the trees, taking to the ground below.

The youth’s home functioned as a massive trap. Messy, sticky, and covered in dust and bits of hair. Not that he would have liked it any other way. In his eyes, he lived within a masterpiece.

Turning to scan the walls, he found a hare ensnared in between the threads of one wall. Upon a closer look, the man could see that it had already been injured. In its terrified frenzy to find a hiding place, it must have stumbled right into the silken trap.How it had died wasn’t important though- what mattered is that it would make a nice breakfast. He pulled its still-warm body away, and sank his teeth straight into its flank.

If one were to peer in on the man as he devoured his breakfast, fear may have been instilled into their heart. His teeth cut through flesh as if it were butter, his fingers snapped bone between them like twigs, and the muscle in his legs rippled beneath the surface of his outer form.

Built as a man from the head to the hip, dissolving into the form of a tarantula, Blaise was born to devour the flesh of living things.

The arraneum, as one would call his people, ate his fill of the hare. He slurped up the inside of the animal’s belly, hanging the skin and muscle by a web to be eaten later. Anything that tried to touch his leftovers would be in for a sticky surprise.

Blaise examined the hole that the trapped animal had left. His masterpiece came in the form of a gigantic web; he’d spent over a year spinning to make it this far. Not that it was complete- an arraneum’s web could never be labeled as finished. But, it kept the rain out.

Blaise turned his back to the area that had been torn. Using his hind legs as his eyes, the sensitive hairs located there helped him to spin without a glance. By the time he turned to check his work; a perfect little patch had been spun.

With his stomach full and his web properly cared for, he resolved to take a bath in the nearby stream. He wanted to keep his fur and his hair well kempt, even if nobody was going to be looking at him in the relative future. Keeping clean was the least that he could do.

The stream wasn’t a long ways off from his web. The water there was clear, having run down from the cold peak of the mountain. Blaise knelt along the side, pressing his lips into the water. It created a nice feeling in his stomach, washing down the meat he’d taken in for breakfast. He found that it wasn’t too chilly to wash in. However, to his disappointment, it was much too shallow to have a proper soak. He poured water over himself with his hands, letting it seep into his hair and drip down his shoulders. He only dampened his fur, knowing that it may give his scent away later on.

As he walked away from the stream, his feet dripping, Blaise listened in on the forest. It proved quiet aside from the birds in the trees, and calm besides the wind that rolled through. He couldn’t say that he wouldn’t enjoy having the voices of his fellow arraneum to speak over the silence, but that was a sacrifice he’d come to terms with long ago.

Blaise slowed as he drew close to a tiny meadow. A thicket lined part of its edge, just big enough to keep him under cover. He spun an inch of web and pulled it to his finger; checking to be sure that he was downwind. He flicked the thread away; silently hunkering down behind the bushes. He had limited vision out of them- but it was enough to observe creatures moving around in the open. Deer frequented this place. He didn’t succeed in killing a lot of deer, but there was always the chance that a sick fawn could come stumbling through.

The morning sun pulled itself higher into the sky. Slowly but surely, a group of deer shuffled into the clearing. Blaise peered. He examined them, watching for signs of illness or injury that would make for an easy catch. Ears standing at attention, he spotted a bleeding fawn. It limped along next to its mother, who stood guard in front of her injured child.

Blaise was left at a crossroads. Killing the fawn would be easy, that was for sure. He’d being doing it a favor by putting it out of its misery. He flinched as he listened to the thing bleat in agony. However- the doe posed a threat. Chances were that she’d attack him in defense, and he didn’t want to come face to face with her hooves.

During his internal debate, the pair drew closer. The fawn hobbled along weakly, shivering and struggling to stay up. He decided that he should try to end its misery, reasoning that the mother would probably run with fright. He positioned his legs to pounce, waiting for a distance to form between the two deer.

At last, the doe strayed for a thick patch of grass. Blaise leapt over the bushes, voice cracking as he let out a cry. In a flash, the herd scrambled away and back into the trees. The arraneum made a beeline for the fawn, tearing through the meadow. Dirt and grass went flying as he came to a quick halt, the doe having jumped in his path. She raised herself onto two legs; prepared to strike Blaise with her front hooves. Quickly, Blaise took a similar stance; standing on his four hind legs. He shrieked at the animal as it lunged towards him.

He braced himself to be struck. But, to his shock, nothing came. When his eyes opened again, the doe had vanished. He locked gazes with the horrified fawn, still frozen in place right in front of him. One second later, he was on the ground, teeth sunk into the creature’s neck. He bit down before it had a chance to yelp, and a loud snap resounded from the fawn’s vertebrae as they were crushed. The creature went limp in Blaise’s grasp, and he released it.

The man stood upright again, wiping drops of blood from his lips. He wondered where the doe had gone. It had been ready to strike him, and then it had disappeared so suddenly… Surely it hadn’t run away at the last second? His ears caught the sound of something wet, and he turned his head.

Blaise’s heart skipped a beat.

On the ground lay the doe, her neck bent into an unnatural shape. Her belly had been ripped open, and something was face-deep in her entrails. His eyes fell on auburn hair connected to deeply tanned flesh, and his gaze travelled lower. His jaw hung open- at the hip, the thing’s body didn’t connect to fur, or smooth shell, but something he’d never seen. Down and down and down, the long body went on for yards until it came to a stop. The entire length of it was coated in scales; marbled all colors white and green. A crude snarfing sound came from in the doe’s belly; and Blaise noted breasts on the creature.

A snake woman, was it? He’d never heard of such a thing. But here she was, plain as day in front of him. He wondered if he were dreaming.  

Blaise raised his forelegs cautiously as the woman lifted her head. Her features dripped with gore, droplets falling from her sharp nose. Viridian like the scales below her hips, the woman’s eyes peered out from behind the layer of blood on her skin. The gaze of a predator tore into Blaise’s own, eyes locked with him as if she were ready to pounce.

Blaise wondered if he should run. No, he couldn’t do that. This wasn’t an animal, she was a person. The first he’d seen in years, too! It would be rude of him to go without giving her some kind of greeting. For several moments he stared at the woman’s strange form, his mouth hanging open.

The woman didn’t hold the same amount of interest. She smacked her tail against the ground, hissing at him. Saliva and blood flew out of her mouth, and her long fangs were bared to the arraneum. They were long as they were terrifying. With that, the woman returned to her meal.

Blaise didn’t eat. He observed her movements, particularly the way that her tail moved beneath her flesh. It was something like water, he noted. Smooth scales reflected the noon sun off of their surface, glimmering like bits of glass. Blaise moved out of the range that she could strike him from, and cleared his throat. At this point he had to wonder if she even knew how to speak.

“Who are you?” He croaked. How long had it even been since he’d spoken? He remembered whispering something to himself a few days before. He’d shrieked at the doe earlier as well, if that counted for anything. Blaise cleared his throat again.

The snake woman pulled her head out of the doe’s carcass. A forked tongue darted out of her lips, pulling blood back inside of them.

“Louise. What the hell do you want with me?” She growled. The arraneum was taken aback by her voice. At least he could be assured that they spoke the same language. He didn’t know the word ‘hell’ though. Perhaps she’d come from a colony like his own, way on the other side of the mountain, or even from somewhere close by?

The forked organ darted out from between her lips, again. Her eyes darted about the tree line, watching anxiously. “This is my first time finding any of your kind out here. Don’t you live in groups? Are there more of you coming?”

“Nu-uh, I’m all alone.” Blaise responded. The woman seemed on edge, suddenly frightened by his presence. “There aren’t any other arraneum living on this side of the mountain, as far as I know. They’re all on the other end. It would be weeks before you walked, or uhm... Slithered, far enough to find more of them.”

Louise shot him a venomous look. “Why are you alone? Rabies? Did you kill someone?” The woman spoke of him critically, attacking him with her mouth rather than her body. Though she had moved just slightly- putting herself between the man and her meal. Blaise could tell that the woman was wary of him, enough to keep from starting a physical confrontation. Not many creatures of her size, or his size for that matter, lived in the forest. It was possible that he could attack her, steal the doe she’d killed, and leave her with the skinny fawn.

“Gosh, you don’t have to say it like that… I’m not sick. And nobody kicked me out for anything, especially not anything like that. I just didn’t feel like there was any place for me there.” The arraneum explained.

Louise blinked at him, and a loud cackle jumped from her throat. Blaise frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“You sound like some kind of coward. I bet you ran off because you tried to put your hands on someone else’s girl.” Louise replied with a chortle. Blaise straightened himself, raising one of his forelegs up.

“It’s not like…!” He huffed. “It’s not like that. I’m not interested in things like that.” .

“Mhm. Whatever you say, fuzzy-legs.” Blaise’s eye twitched at the name. He’d never been called that before. He pressed his foot back down onto the ground, while she decided to continue her meal.

“Well, what about you then? Are there any others like you running around here, ready to choke me to death?” Blaise shot the question at her. Louise stopped, and for a moment her smug grin fell from her face.

“No. Us naga... We keep to ourselves. You won’t find any of them living around here, that’s for sure.” She told him.

Blaise was struck with a sudden curiosity. What sorts of differences did they have? She had to have come from an entirely different culture than his own. She’d come from somewhere, one didn’t learn to speak on their own. He didn’t believe that snake people, (hadn’t she called them naga?) kept to themselves.

“Well, if you talk, then you had to have lived with someone at some point. Don’t you have a mom, or a dad? Oh, do you come from an egg too?” The arraneum continued on with his interrogation, much to the dismay of the woman.

“Yeah. I was raised, for a short time, with my parents. I had a twin sister and a brother. I hatched like an oversized chicken. Now would you leave me alone before this doe begins to rot? Crawl back in your filthy web where you belong.”

Blaise considered leaving. She was more rude than he felt comfortable with, and mean too, by the sounds of it. But then, he  looked from his kill, a sickly fawn, to hers, a healthy doe. He wouldn’t budge, and that only seemed to irritate Louise even more. She growled as he took one step closer.

“Oh, come on. There’s no reason for the two of us to be hateful towards one another.  I think that we could help one another out, even. You and me both will need a lot of food to eat in order to make it through this winter. Spring may not come early this year.”

Louise looked up from her food, straightening herself. Sitting on her tail, she could adjust her height, and she kept her nose pointed downwards at the man. “Are you trying to say something?”

The arraneum rubbed his forelegs together and coughed. “Well... I mean could use the company, and you probably could too... And with two of us hunting together, we’ll have enough weight on us to make it through winter in no time. Maybe it would be best if we stick around each other for a little while?”

She threw her hands up. “No. No, No, No. I don’t need some skinny-ass bug stinking up the place. I’ve got enough trouble with webs that normal spiders leave all over! I don’t want to clean yours out of my nest.” Louise refused his offer outright.

“Spiders live in webs though! I wouldn’t have to make one in your nest. We don’t have to sleep next to each other all day long, but it would benefit both of us if we ate together instead of competing for food. I can save that doe for you to eat tomorrow, it’ll still be as fresh as it is right now. I can even catch fish, if you don’t know how to.” Blaise tried his very hardest to persuade the woman into accepting his offer. With a hunter as powerful as her by his side, he would have an easier time surviving. Foul mouthed as she was, putting up with that was easier than dying.

Louise fell silent. “Could you really?” The naga asked, gaze turning to her kill. “I do feel kinda bad about wasting all of this good meat… I only killed this thing because I had a good shot at it.”

Blaise smiled, watching the gears in her head turn. She was starting to consider his offer, he could tell in her indecisive gaze. The tip of her tail shifted left, then right as she weighed the thoughts in her mind.

The naga heaved a sigh. “Alright. I guess I’ll take you to my cave. I swear though, if you try something funny with me- I’ll gut you clean like I did to this thing. Got that?”

Blaise nodded his head up and down. He didn’t doubt that she would hold true to that threat. Louise was probably stronger than him. It wasn’t easy to take down a healthy doe, even when catching it off guard. He’d make sure to keep himself in line around her until she developed some sort of trust in him. Not that he was particularly devious anyway.

“Good. Now, shut your mouth and let me eat. You’d better do the same. That fawn’s not going to be edible for very long, especially with that wound.” She barked, then dug her face into the doe’s entrails before she could be interrupted again.

The arraneum left her be, then ripped into his own prey; assuming that she would tug him along once she had finished. He felt terrible for abandoning his web after all of that work, but caves were very low-maintenance places to live. So long as they weren’t already occupied.

All of a sudden, Blaise was coming to realize how lonely he’d been over the two or so years that he’d been here, all alone. His heart was beating fast, and he could hardly keep his food between his teeth due to the smile that kept creeping over them.

\---

“Ouch, it’s stuck to my tongue!” Louise yelped. The pair stood alone beside a wide rock face. Over the time the earth had shifted and trembled, leaving a pocket of air between the rock that face into the wood. The cavern wasn’t massive, nor was it narrow or deep, but it was enough to keep several people safe from the elements.

After they had finished their meal, Blaise had wrapped the carcasses in his web and loaded them up onto his back. He took them back to Louise’s home for her, where they could be hung in trees. The arraneum laughed from the bottom of his throat, watching her try to pry a few strands of his web off of her tongue.

“I told you not to mess with it!” He retorted. “Let this be your first lesson about living with an arraneum - don’t ever touch webs while they’re fresh.” Blaise warned her of his threads. They would stick to anything, including the flesh and scales of a naga. Louise grunted and crossed her arms in a huff.

“Oh, I’m just messing with you Louise. But really, don’t try it again, or I’ll have to pick it all off. It’ll dissolve if it sits in your mouth for a little while. It’ll keep those deer from rotting until we have a chance to eat the rest of them tomorrow morning.” He crawled down the side of the tree carefully, using all eight of his legs to keep balanced at a vertical angle. Making it down safely,

Blaise inspected the entrance to the cave. “This is very nice, Louise. I like caves. They’re always nice and cool during the summer, and they’re cozy in the winter too.”

The naga snorted. Blaise frowned, and turned to face her. “What? Is there something on me?” He questioned. The man circled around himself, trying to get a good look at his abdomen. Louise shook her head, and stretched her arm. She pointed at the tree where the two deer hung in bags of web.

“You sleep over there. Not inside of the cave.” She told him. Blaise’s mouth dropped open. He stood before her, eyes pleading. He gestured towards the sky, where dark clouds were coming closer, as if in herds.

“But Louise, I can’t stay outside!” He protested. “It’s going to rain, and it’s going to get cold out here. I don’t have enough time before it pours to spin a web over my head- can’t I stay in the cave with you just for a little while?” The arraneum begged. Louise shook her head back and forth, arms crossed over her chest. She stood planted before the cave entrance, restricting his entry.

“I said no, and I mean no. I won’t have some stinking spider trying to eat me in my sleep. You had better stay out here if you know what’s good for you.” Her tongue was sharp as her fangs as she spoke to him. Louise turned her back to the man, slithering inside of her home without a glance over her shoulder. “Now I think that I’m going to take a nap. I suggest you start spinning before that rain starts to come down, or you’ll freeze.”

Blaise watched her fade into the darkness. How dare she leave him out in the cold and the rain all by himself? His face contorted with frustration, Blaise began to spin a place to rest in the trees. He really didn’t have much time to waste. But maybe, if he worked quickly enough, he’d be able to make something suitable before the rain came down.

At first, the thunder whispered in the distance, it drew ever closer, growing more intense, and then it bellowed so loud that it shook the branches Blaise spun on. He had a web that could just support his weight- another layer and he could at least sit under the leaves while the rain came down. Trying his best to finish, the arraneum skittered to the center of his web. Carefully, he started a new thread.

The sky opened up. A torrent of rain came down upon him like a waterfall that poured over his head. He yelped as a bolt of lightning illuminated the forest. The downpour tore his web, and wind ripped it from the tree. Blaise grabbed onto a branch and screeched, hanging on by a shaky limb. He scrambled his eight legs in attempt to find a place to latch onto. With nowhere to go, he tried to use his web. It flew off into the wind before he could plant it.

“Help!” He cried. Another crack of lightning hit the ground- close by. The storm appeared to be out for his tree. Blaise continued to call for the woman, flailing and shaking in the wind.

Louise slipped out of the cavern with a grimace. It didn’t take long for her to notice the suspended arraneum, dangling in the air by a high branch.

“What did you do, you stupid spider?!” She cried out. Quickly, she slithered to place herself beneath his body. “Jump down here, I’ll catch you!” Louise commanded. The arraneum shook his head.

“I can’t, you won’t be able to! I’ll break my shell open if I fall from up here!” Blaise called back to her. A fall from this height could easily kill him. But his arms couldn’t hold his weight for very much longer. Louise opened hers up for him, hair blown in all directions by the rain.

“You’ll break me first, fatass! Just jump before I come up there and push you down!” The naga shouted. Blaise closed his eyes. He released one hand from the branch, dangling for just a moment. His other hand slipped free- he was sent flying down towards the ground; belly-first. He managed just half of a frightened shriek. His body connected with Louise’s, flopping on top of her like a fish leaping from the water. He sat and panted, his heart beating in his ears. He’d survived the fall. In a moment, Louise was pulling him.

“Come on, the tree’s coming down!” She screamed. Blaise was motionless, his brain hadn’t caught up from the shock of falling. However, a pair of teeth in his ear sped his thinking right up. Blaise leapt away from the tree and into a nearby bush. Louise followed him, leaping right on top of the man. Blaise scrambled to wrap himself around her, instinctively grasping for another body. A strand of light hit its trunk, sending the powerful plant down to the earth. It shook the ground beneath them as it collapsed, leaving nothing but a log and a smoldering stump where a powerful tree had once stood.

Blaise lifted his head. He looked at Louise; all tangled up with him. The end of her tail shook, wrapped around one of his legs. He touched her on the shoulder. “It’s okay, the tree’s down now.” The arraneum’s voice trembled, a mix of the cold and the shock driving his lips to quiver. Louise pushed herself away from him, gaining distance and catching her breath.

“Alright... Come on, you can sleep in the cave for now. Just don’t stink up the place. You’ve caused me enough trouble already, and you’ve been here for less than a day. Be good.” The naga slithered out of the bushes, slipping into her cave. Blaise followed, though he paused to examine the spot where the tree had fallen. When thunder roared across the air, he jumped into the cavern with Louise.

As he entered; the arraneum sniffed and poked about the area. It was dry and cozy, spacious enough to fit the both comfortably. Louise had her nest placed in the back of the cave- though there was still an ample amount of light coming from the outside. Squeezing her long hair dry, Louise pointed to the corner.

“You sleep there.” She instructed. Blaise could tell that her nest was big enough to share. But, he would much rather sleep on the stone floor than out in the rain. So without protest, the arraneum curled up in the cool nook. He sat quietly, eyes open.

“Hey... Thanks for helping me back there. You make a good cushion, Louise.” He joked. The naga just huffed at him. She turned to face away from the man, swinging the end of her tail.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think that you were calling me fat.” She hissed. Blaise frowned- seemed like she and he didn’t have a similar taste in comedy. Yet, he persisted in trying to talk to his new companion.

“Oh, well being fat is a good thing! Means you’ll be healthy all through winter. I like girls with big abdomens, they’re pretty.” The man shook his head. He didn’t want to put the snake woman off by detailing his preference in girls.  

“Being fat is not a good thing, only thin women are beautiful. A fat woman is no good for anything, they’re lazy and can’t keep the fat off of their bones.” Louise retorted. Blaise furrowed his brow. He wanted another voice to soothe his nerves after his close call with death, but Louise kept her sour attitude despite anything he said.

“Says who?” He shot the question at her, with more irritation evident in his tone than he had intended. Louise turned to look at him with a glare.

“I said so! Now go to sleep before I drag you by one of those stupid legs and toss you in front of the next tree that falls!” She snapped. The woman curled back up; giving a frustrated growl. Louise hid her face in her tail, nothing more than a wave of auburn poking out of the scales.

Blaise lowered his head to the floor. Now he felt guilty for making her upset. A bolt of lightning struck somewhere. Louise jumped, rolling herself up tighter. Blaise stood, and crawled to her side.

“Scared of storms?” He questioned. “That lightning isn’t going to get in here with us. The thunder is just sound- nothing to be afraid of, unless you think sleeping in a tree during a storm is a smart idea.”

“I know all that, go away.” Louise barked at him through her tail. Blaise nipped at her shoulder, rubbing her scales with the foot of his leg. The naga smacked the end of her tail against the ground. “I said go away!” She hissed. Blaise backed away. He fell silent again, his eyes falling to stare at the floor.

“I’m sorry if I upset you. I didn’t mean to call you fat. The two of us come from different places, I should have expected that we probably think differently.” He apologized. The last thing that he wanted was to doom himself to loneliness again. Two years alone seemed like forever now- he didn’t know if he could take any longer. It would hurt to know that she lived so close. They’d run into each other on trips to the stream, and hunting outings. She may even try to oust him from her territory, or kill him. All because of a dumb comment on his part, too.

To the arraneum’s surprise, she came out of her tight ball, unfurling her body. The naga looked at him. “I don’t like storms...”

Blaise sat beside her, placing his hand on her back. Her flesh was alarmingly rough. Her entire back was littered with scars. Some light and thin, others gnarled and ugly, like she’d been a plaything to a mountain lion. It hurt to feel the marks of pain she’d experienced some time before.

“It’s alright, Louise. That storm will have to get through me first!” He chimed. The man put his hands on his hips and puffed out his scrawny little chest. Louise sniffed at him. Blaise supposed that she was giving some kind of inspection, now that they were close together.

“You don’t smell bad. But you’re still a moron.” The woman blinked, and covered up her breasts with both hands. “Hey, don’t get so close.” She sputtered. The arraneum cocked his head to the side.

“What is it? Are your breasts sore? Here, I’ll check to see if there’s any bumps in them, that wouldn’t be good…” Blaise moved her hands out of the way, and grabbed each side of her chest. After a swift squeeze with him thumbs, he smiled. “No bumps!”

Louise was shocked for a moment, but then she flinched. “You stupid spider, I fell on them when you knocked me to the ground, don’t touch!”

Blaise sputtered. “Wah, I’m sorry!” He meeped. “We’ll eat the rest of those deer when we wake up, okay? It’s almost dark, and there’s nothing to do while that storm is out there.” He suggested. Louise only nodded her head, and tucked it back to use her tail as a pillow. Blaise shifted, laying half outside of her bed and half in, just so he had a place to set his head besides the floor. Her nest was made mostly of pelts that had been collected over time, and it was a nice contrast to rock below the other side of his body. He closed his eyes, the drum of the storm outside carrying him off to sleep.


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there, and thank you 2x if you were interested in chapter one to make it to this point. Here's the thing I guess?

One could wonder what it was like to be startled awake by the shrieks of an angry naga. Blaise didn’t have to wonder, as any dreams he could have been entertaining were thrust out of his mind. Angry shrieks and a slew of foul language, half of which the arraneum had no understanding of, flew into the cave from outside. Blaise pulled himself off of the floor, his lower body sore from sleeping on the stone. Skittering out of the cave and towards the source of all the commotion, he had to stop and giggle once he made it to the mouth of the cave. He hid his grin behind one hand, but it didn’t seem like Louise was looking anyway.

He watched the woman gracelessly flop about on the ground, her body covered in webs. She’d not only slithered over the web that had fallen the night before, but she’d also attempted to open up the pouches that held the carcasses. And, by the looks of it, she wasn’t happy to be trapped in the mess. Blaise took a few steps through the grass, standing over her. The naga was nearly immobile under his feet; wrapped up until she could hardly move.

“Are you having fun there? I thought that getting it stuck in your mouth would have taught you something.” The arraneum joked, poking at the naga’s scaly underside with his foot. Louise let out a huff.

“I was trying to get the deer out of that pouch, and I got stuck. Then I got trapped up in this one.” She admitted, face and shoulders red from her fit of exertion. Blaise watched her continue to struggle, working against the webs that bound her.

“Do you want me to help?” The arraneum offered. “You’re probably not going to get out of there without my help.”

Louise turned her nose away, trying to force herself up off of the ground. “I’m fine, just give me a minute.” She hissed. As the last word rolled off of her tongue, her weight shifted, and she fell face first to the ground.

“Are you sure?” Blaise asked again. Louise continued to lay with her nose planted into the dirt, unable to move without worming herself around. She heaved a tired sigh, and Blaise watched the muscles in her body relax.

“I’m not going to get out of this any other way, am I?” She grumbled. “Get it off of me.”

“Mm, sure thing.” Blaise responded. He approached, and Louise lay still. The naga let a low growl roll out of her throat as she rolled her tail out flat against the grass. It was only now that Blaise noticed just how long she was, from head to tail-end. Extremely powerful in between, he noted. The woman only looked up at him, arms pinned to her body.

“How do you get it off?” She questioned. “Do you just rip it off or something? I’d like to get an idea of how much pain I’m going to end up in.”

“I could try picking, but it’s easier to rub it off.” He replied. Blaise pressed his fingers to one of her hands. “I’ve got this stuff on my body that keeps me from sticking to the web. If I didn’t, I’d get just as tangled up as you are.” He explained. Louise didn’t seem impressed. In fact, she looked less than comfortable with Blaise rubbing his fingers all over. He tore a strand off; pulling some of her skin along with it. Louise hissed through her teeth.

“Oh, don’t make that noise. You’ll be alright.” Blaise told her. “I’d much rather be eating breakfast than getting you out of all this.” The arraneum let out a chuckle. “Maybe I’ll eat up the rest of that tender little fawn right in front of you. That’ll really teach you not to mess around with the web anymore, won’t it?”

The naga thrashed her tail about. “You wouldn’t dare!” She barked.

“You’re right, that wouldn’t be fair.” Blaise laughed at her again. He carefully rubbed his fingers and palms where the web stuck to her body. It was a good thing that it was spun thin. If it hadn’t been, then she would have had to sit in the water for hours until it loosened up. Blaise took care of her arms first. They seemed to be the worst off, as they were pinned tight to her torso. Louise hissed, grunted and made noises of general displeasure throughout, eyeing the red marks left on her skin.

Blaise had to flip her onto her stomach, and he paused for a moment. He noticed marks on her that hadn’t been from his web. They were very old now, running up and down her back; Long marks that reminded him of scratches from claws and sharp rocks. There were too many to just be that, though. Some of them were very very old, like she’d been getting cut her entire life. He felt a little twinge of sadness, knowing that they must have hurt. Aside from a little stretch mark here and there, she was more or less without blemish. He snapped out of that thought, and cleaned her back. It was difficult to untangle her arms entirely, but with a bit of wriggling on her part, they were freed.

Blaise paused. “Don’t you want to eat, Louise? We should take a break.” He suggested. “You should be safe to move around now, just keep your hands off of your tail.”

Louise noded, pushing herself back up to where she was standing again. Blaise noted that she continually held herself at a height greater than his. He retrieved the two caracasses from the ground and the tree, unwrapping them without a hitch. The naga stood, very careful to keep her arms away from wherever she was still sticky. She sighed through her nose as Blaise began to unwrap their breakfast.  

“Thanks for helping me... I shouldn’t have messed around with your web.” The naga begrudgingly apologized. Blaise passed over a hunk of the doe’s flank. She took it with a small nod of her head as thanks.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to apologize to me. But really, don’t do it again. It’s a pain for both of us to get it all off of you.” Blaise forgave his companion, tearing into the leftover meat. Louise ate as well, famished after all of the thrashing. She rubbed her scales on the grass as she ate, trying to remove the pesky webs before she was made subject to more pain. She managed, to her surprise, to shake a lot of it away.

Blaise stretched himself out, tossing bones back into the web pouch. “Mh, you get any of that web off yourself? Let’s go to the stream for water. You can drink and let some more web come off, and I’ll get rid of these carcasses while we’re at it.” Blaise suggested a plan. He sat down on top of the fallen tree, still tinged with the scent of ash. He started to put a thin patch over the pouches, in order to carry them through the trees and to the stream.

“Alright... I’m thirsty. Did you eat the bladder of that deer?” Louise asked, then recoiled. “No, I did... We could have used it to carry water back here.” The naga rubbed her chin. “What are you planning to do with those bones again? Go dump them off in a hole or something; I don’t want them in the water.” Louise wasn’t keen on the idea of rotting meat in her drinking water. Blaise shook his head at her.

“I like to put them in the water.”

“But why? They’ll just stick around attracting bears, and cougars, and who knows what else is out there in these forests!”

Blaise chuckled. “The only thing we have to worry about in these mountains are other arraneum. As long as it isn’t breeding season, there’s nothing for you to be scared of.” He slung the bags of web over his abdomen. “Come on then, let’s get a move on.”

“Well alright.” The woman agreed, gathering her bearings. “But you didn’t answer my question- why do you take them to water and get rid of them?” She asked. Louise slithered up and past Blaise, leading him to the stream. He followed her lead.

“Well, for a few reasons. If we’re talking about the practicality of it, it’s because we don’t want to attract anything that could eat us. I wouldn’t expect a bear to attack either of us, but they will if they’re really hungry.” He paused. “Or, maybe just after they wake up from hibernation. But speaking of the colony I came from, are there any other naga in the area? You’ve got a mom or dad, don’t you?”

Louise slowed down, pausing for a moment. “I don’t think so, Blaise. I came from very far away. Farther than you could ever even imagine. Maybe even a whole different world from this one.” With that, she picked up her pace again. Her words left Blaise confused, but he didn’t question the meaning behind them. It was quite possible that she just came from a different type of forest; or another mountain.

But, on the other side, Blaise thought that it would be sad to be without a family. He’d always had his mother, and some friends. Of course he had some siblings too, but he’d bid his farewell to all of them already. If he ever grew homesick, a few weeks’ journey would bring him to them. He suddenly wondered how his mother was doing. He thought about his brothers and sisters. He would have thought on his father as well, but he’d died long before he was even born. He couldn’t say that he didn’t wonder if the man was anything at all like himself. His mom had said that they shared the same blue fur.

His thought bubble receded back into his skull when he picked up the sound of running water. Before he even saw it, he could tell that this section of the stream wasn’t shallow, maybe even deep enough to have a proper bath inside of.  

“Here it is.” Louise told the arraneum. They exited the treeline together and came to the bank. The stream was wide and healthy where they stood. Not too swift to enter, and certainly deep enough to immerse himself up to the hip. Blaise smiled, showing off his teeth.

“Oh, this is great! Are there any fish in here? Bigger than minnows and salamanders?” Blaise spoke as he walked to the water’s edge. It was a little too murky to see at the very bottom. That’s where the fish would dwell, if there were any of a considerable size. Louise joined the arraneum by the bank.

“Well, of course there are. There aren’t a whole lot when it starts to get cold, but there’s probably some in there now.” She replied. “I hope you don’t intend to catch any of them. I can’t catch anything more than a crawdad in there.”

“What’s a crawdad?” The man asked, swishing his foreleg about inside the water. Louise made a motion with her fingers; opening and closing her forefinger and thumb repeatedly.

“They’re the weird bug-looking things that like to live under rocks. With the big pinching claws. They’re called crawdads.” She told him. Blaise chuckled at her, shaking drops of water from his fur.

“Crawdads? I’ve never heard anyone call them that before. We call them crawfish.” He said. Blaise took a drink of the water, testing it. The fluid was fresh and crisp on his tongue. He raised his torso up again; and wiped his lips with the back of his arm. “Is there a waterfall close by? This water tastes like back home. We lived by a big waterfall.”

Louise lifted herself, right after she had her own fill of water. “Yeah. It’s not far, if you ever want to see it. It’s pretty tall.” She stated, wiping her face dry as well. “I’m not surprised that I called them the wrong name... I wasn’t raised with very intelligent people.” Her last sentence was muttered under her breath, but Blaise caught it.

“Raised? So you do have a family!” He exclaimed. “I want to know about other nagas, you have to tell me. I’ve already told you a whole bunch of stuff about my kind; I want to learn about yours.” The man was so eager to know all about Louise, so he could please and befriend her with less difficulty. She splashed water at him.

“I’ll tell you about them sometime, fuzzy-legs. Now wash yourself before you go and stink up my cave. I’m going to sit here and try to soak these webs off of my scales.” The naga waved him off with her hand.

Blaise blew a raspberry at her; launching himself into the water. He splashed her entire body, nearly coating her hair with flecks of water. She hissed at him, and tossed more water in his direction. He ducked into the current just in time to evade the counter-attack. Both laughed at themselves, and continued on with cleaning their bodies of dirt and webs. Louise seemed much more reluctant to enter the water than Blaise; who swam about in circles all around the stream. Louise preferred to lie on her side; swishing her hand about on the surface while her tail lay in the water. She felt the stones, running the smooth objects through her fingers. Blaise exited the water; shaking himself off. Louise darted away before she was soaked again.

“Ah, that felt great! I haven’t had a good swim in over a year now. Sometime I’ll come out and fish here.” Blaise sighed with relief, stretching his muscles out. He drank from the stream some more; walking over to grab the bags of deer meat and bones. A fair distance away from where Louise lay, he emptied out the two pouches at the same time. Eventually he tossed the web bags into the water as well. They were carried off past the point where they couldn’t be seen, on their way to the bottom of the mountain; along with the water itself.

Louise stood herself up and dried off. The small bath hadn’t removed the entirety of the web; but she hoped that it would fall off. It couldn’t stay sticky forever. Blaise snickered from a ways downstream.

“You just hate to be wet, don’t you?” He questioned. Blaise came closer to her, still dripping with water. The naga smiled, wiping a few flecks of moisture from her forearm.

“Yeah. I’ve been told that I’m kind of like a cat. I suppose I’m not like a snake is supposed to be at all, am I?” She inquired, running one finger along her scales.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about being like a snake.” Blaise said. Louise turned her head to look at him, confused. “You don’t have to be like anything at all- just to be Louise. Even if that means that you think I smell, or that you don’t really like me very much.”

Louise blinked, and followed with a small chuckle. “It’d be nice if more creatures could think like you spiders do. Now, let’s get back to the cave and into the shade- the shadows are starting to disappear, and I don’t want to deal with flakes of spider skin all over the place if you get a sunburn!” She began to slither off, and Blaise sauntered right after her. He stopped for just a moment, raising his forelegs up as something blinded him. He pulled the object away from his face. Just a yellow leaf was all.

“You coming, creepy crawly?” Louise questioned; peering at Blaise from over her shoulder. The arraneum gathered himself, and skittered back to her side again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, as always, updates should come in 3-7 days! Please feel free to leave feedback, it helps me to make this thing better and keep motivated. Constructive crit is always welcome, especially this early on. Thanks again!


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the third chapter, ye, things are gonna... happen...

The leaf that had fallen against Blaise’s forehead had proved to be the first of many that were due to come. Late summer was dissolving into early autumn, when the last heat-filled days helped to dry the leaves as they lost their color. Blaise noted the slight difference in the length of his days and the increase of his nights, a sure signal to start loading meat onto his bones.

Louise took this very seriously.

Blaise had never someone hunt like her before. The change in her habits was gradual, but at this point it was obvious that she was gorging herself. As a result, weight had loaded itself into her tail, and her stomach and breasts were swelling with it.

But, as the two of them were partners, she made a point not to take more than her fair share of what they’d killed. With the two of them working together as a unit, there was excess for both of them to share anyhow. Upon pinching his hips, Blaise could feel fat settling over the bones of his hips. The weight of stress on his shoulders had transferred to his gut, and he was happier for it.

One afternoon, around three weeks since their meeting, the two had taken to the stream again. Blaise took his turn to fish, while Louise sunned herself on the bank. Her dark flesh didn’t redden and burn the way that Blaise’s would at times. While she’d been born with a darker complexion, the arraneum built up a tan to resist the sun each summer. Waiting for the underwater creatures to come and investigate the hairs on his legs for signs of algae, he held his net steady. Blaise remained still aside from the occasional flicker of his eyes to watch the water’s surface.

With a splash he brought it down, feeling weight as it came back up into the air. He kicked his right foreleg into the air victoriously, tossing the fish over to Louise. Her forked tongue smacked against her lips.

“Thanks!” She told him, mouth already half full with meat. Blaise shook his net dry, nodding in recognition of her thanks.

“Don’t make yourself sick now.” Blaise warned as the naga sucked the bones of a fish clean. He held tight to his net while he spoke. The tool was crafted from a sturdy branch, a net made of webs weaved between the split of it. “If you eat too fast then you’ll throw it all back up again.”

Louise gulped loudly, swallowing the meat down into her stomach. She let out a hefty sigh, finally satisfied. “You’ve told me that three times already. I’ve gotta eat, or I won’t make it through winter.” She told him. The woman belched, never bothering to cover her mouth.

“You act like there’s not going to be any food left once the leaves fall. It might be hard to come by, but it’s not as if you’re going to have to starve yourself for months on end.” Blaise told her. He glanced occasionally at the surface of the water, but it wasn’t likely that anything would come swimming if he kept on talking as he was.

Louise pulled her hair over her shoulders, sprawling out on the bank. “And you act like I’m going to be awake the whole time. I’m half fuckin’ snake, remember?”

Blaise lowered his net, blinking as he did so. He turned his head to face the woman. “What do you mean?” He asked. “You mean you’ll be sleeping more often, don’t you? Surely you don’t just go to sleep for the whole winter and wake up again in the spring.”   
“That’s about right, yeah. Usually I fall asleep just before snow falls for the first time, and then wake up when it’s all been melted. I’m not entirely like a snake in that I’ve got to keep moving in and out of the sun, but if I were to keep living as usual in the winter, I’d freeze over and die.” She explained to the confused arraneum. “Sorry, but I’ll have to put our partnership on hold until spring rolls back around.”

Blaise almost dropped his net. He stared dumbly at the woman, trying to drink in the revelation that he’d be alone again. Not alone, but by himself with a sleeping naga, during the part of the year that he needed support the most. He felt betrayed, it wasn’t fair, why would nature make it so that he’d be alone again? But he smiled, slung his net over his shoulder, and splashed one of his forelegs in the water. “That’s fine!” He lied. It wasn’t fine, and he was afraid to be alone again. Their relationship wasn’t even that strong, but it was something, and it was frightening to imagine her being gone.

The naga pulled herself up off of the ground. “Right then. I’m gonna go sleep this off, so don’t be noisy when you come back home, alright?” She brushed herself off, turning to leave.

“Wait, Louise!” Blaise called after her. She turned back around, one eyebrow raised to question him. Blaise pointed at the pile of fish bones left where she’d been sitting to eat them. “You can’t just leave those there, toss them in the water before you go.”

Louise rolled her eyes. She turned around, bending over to snatch up the clean bones and toss them into the water. Bits sank, and bits floated downstream past Blaise and out of view. The arraneum had already turned back to catching himself some more food to eat, thinking that Louise would have already turned back for the cave. His thoughts had already moved on to some other subject when a voice pierced them.

“What’s with you always making me throw the bones in the water anyway?” Louise asked. “You act like it’s important. Is there some other reason besides keeping vultures away?” She questioned the man. Her tail planted on the bank, she’d sat down again with the intent of hearing some kind of explanation.

Blaise turned his head away from where he’d been looking to listen to her. He scratched the back of his head, cheeks visibly flushed. “Gosh, you’d laugh at me if I told you Louise. Didn’t your mom and dad ever tell you about how water’s supposed to be the allmother’s blood? My mom told me it’s a sign of respect to wash the bones away.”

There was a moment of silence in which Louise looked at Blaise as if he’d sprouted flowers out of his ears. “Have you eaten some mushrooms or something?” She questioned flat-out. “Who’s ‘The Allmother’? Do you have some kind of ultimate spider-mom or something? And what’s all this about water being made of blood, that doesn’t make any sense.” Looking completely baffled, she looked to the arraneum for answers.

This time, Blaise did drop his net out of surprise. “What do you mean you don’t know about that? I mean, not everyone’s heard that particular story of course, but you know about the gods, don’t you?”

“I know of a god, but nothing like the one you’ve mentioned.” Louise responded. There was a spark of something in her eyes, and she motioned her hand for him to continue. “Tell me more though, I’m interested.”

“I thought you were going to go take a nap?”

“I changed my mind. I want to hear about this other god you mentioned.” Louise insisted. For some reason that Blaise couldn’t place, she had her heart set on listening to him babble. He’d had enough to eat he supposed, it wouldn’t be hurt to indulge her curiosity. He’d been so hurt by finding that she’d go to sleep earlier; why not use this as a bonding experience? Yes, that was it! Maybe then she’d at least open up to the point of being friendly. He stepped out of the water, shook so gently that she wouldn’t get covered in droplets, and then plopped down on the bank beside her.

“So... You don’t know anything? About the gods I mean.” Blaise asked her. Louise shook her head no, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “Hm. That’s weird, I thought that everyone knew. Maybe they don’t where you come from.” He laughed. “I’m not even sure where to begin.”

He sat and thought for a moment. He’d never been one to discuss his religion often, and trying to explain the concept to someone entirely foreign was something that he wanted to approach in a way that would be easy to understand. Surprisingly, Louise was patient. “I guess there’s nowhere else to begin but in the beginning.” He stated.

“The beginning?”

“Yeah. There’s two gods, an allmother and an allfather. That’s not to say that either one is an actual man or woman, though people usually call them she and he.” The arraneum took a breath. “A very long time ago, at when time first started really, the gods were the only thing to exist. Everything was dark and cold. They wanted heat, so they held onto one another. Then, they got so hot that stars started to fly off of them. They rubbed together closer and closer together, and all the while they were making light and heat, and eventually the allmother started carrying a baby-”

“So they had sex?”

Blaise frowned. “Yeah, lemme finish.” He warned. Louise nodded, and he went straight back to his monologue. “Anyway, the allmother gave birth to what our world is now. It wasn’t perfect at first, all babies have to grow a little bit. But once the earth could survive on its own, the allmother and allfather planted seeds of life on it. They grew, and they changed, and they reproduced and covered the world in more life. Life feeds the world that we live in, because when we die, our bodies are recycled. We become dirt, which feeds plants, which provides food and homes for the other animals, which provide our food for us, and after we pass on it starts over. The allfather keeps the world habitable by controlling the rain and the wind, and the allmother decides who is to keep living and who is to die.” Blaise paused for a moment, looking at the water’s surface. “We all die as a service to the earth, and in return, we’re rewarded when our souls pass on to a place where nobody has to eat anymore.”

Louise was quiet. She held her hands in her lap, ears laid back, digesting it all. “That’s... Pretty amazing. So all of you spiderfolk think that way, right?”

“Mhm.” Blaise hummed. “That’s not the best rendition of the story you’ll hear, but it’s something. Is all that shocking to you?”

Louise flopped back onto the shore. The sun was setting by this time of the day, so she didn’t have to cover her eyes looking into the sky. “Yeah. Those people told me that there are rules, countless rules that you have to follow while you’re alive. If you do only things that are considered good, your soul goes somewhere good after you die. But if you’re bad, then you go some place that’s bad. It’s your reward or your punishment for how you behaved when you were still living.” She scoffed. “Like all we are is a bunch of children.”

Blaise hummed once more. “I guess we have something similar. It’s a sin to kill for fun, and not to use the thing you’re killing. That’s a wasted death. Then your soul will rot on the inside, and it’s hard to save if you love to hunt for sport.”

The naga’s eyes rolled over to him, long tongue darting out and back into her mouth. “That it? Nothing else?”

“Nothing else.”

Louise turned her gaze back up to the purpling clouds. She sat up abruptly, standing all the way. “Well, consider me converted! That’s much nicer to think than being told that I’m going to burn in a fire for all eternity. A chain... That makes sense, dirt, then plants, then meat, and back again.” She mumbled to herself. Turning around to see her, Blaise noted the grin pushing her cheeks to rub her eyes. The naga had some kind of excitement about her, like she’d just been freed from a lifelong imprisonment. “You mean I can do whatever I want? I can curse, I can have sex, I can eat and drink and live life as well as I want?”

Blaise’s jaw hung open an inch, and he dumbly nodded his head. “Yeah, I guess so... I never thought that those were bad things to begin with, did someone tell you that?”

“I thought it for my whole life, until now! Fact of the matter is, I don’t want to believe a shred of what they told me before. You’re going to tell me all about your kind’s way of thinking, and I’m going to forget what they told me.”

“Who?” The arraneum sputtered. “You always mention these people, but you won’t tell me about them, can’t I know?”

Louise’s lip curled into a frown. “I’ve told you that it’s not any of your business.” Her lips shifted, and the tip of her tail came around to tickle Blaise’s leg. “You know, I might just be seeing you in a new light after that. Too bad the gods didn’t bless you with a better smell.”

“Wah- I just got out of the water! It can’t be that bad...” Blaise protested.

“Yeah? Well you stink like a dog!” At first she could have been taken as mean spirited, but the grin beneath her nose showed off her teasing nature. Her tail flicked both ways at the end, and she glided across the earth and darted through the trees.

“You’re so mean!” Blaise chased her off as she took off back to the cave. He playfully charged as she slipped away, laughing all the while. It was the first time he’d listened to her laugh beyond the usual chuckle. It was still at his expense, yes, but he was still grinning like an idiot along with her. He took off after the woman, and in his wake the autumn leaves went flying. They were stirred up in clouds of red and gold as the pair romped about in the woods, falling to rot and be forgotten. This time wouldn’t last forever, Blaise thought, but it was worth it all to simply enjoy it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This whole chapter kinda came out of my butt, BUT I didn't really like how Blaise introduced his religion/ how late into the story he did, and Louise going into hibernation was far too sudden, so I tried to make this chapter in order to throw these elements of the story in better. It's probably too abrupt though, haha. As always, kudos are appreciated and comments are welcome, updates should come in a few days!


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Thanks for coming back to read again, it's very much appreciated! I realized writing this chapter that I've never mentioned something important about this story itself. I dedicated the whole thing to my freshman year english teacher. He's by far the raddest fucking teacher I ever had, and I'm sure he's still a nice guy. 
> 
> ALSO A HEADS UP! There's the killing of an animal detailed in this, so please be wary as you read. It's not terribly graphic, but neither is it mentioned in passing. Thanks again!

“It’s so f-fuckin’ cold!” Louise chattered. Blaise sauntered into the cave, the fur of a doe wrapped around his shoulders. His naga companion refused to leave the warmth of her nest. She had a fur pulled tight around herself as well, trying to keep warm.

“It’s just a little wind chill, don’t be such a baby.” Blaise teased. He stepped into his own nest, made half of fur and half of tangled webs. He’d built it once the air grew so cold that he couldn’t stand the chill of the stone floor anymore. It wasn’t as comforting as an actual web might have been, but Louise refused to let him spin one inside of the cave. At first he’d wanted to protest, but it was her home that he’d invaded, and it would be better for him to follow her rules. Even so, she was irritated with his teasing.

“Says the guy who’s got fur all over his body.” She hissed, curling tighter into the deer’s skin.

“Only on the lower part, Louise. Otherwise I’m just as cold as you are.” Blaise clucked his tongue, tossing a patch of some creature’s fur to set his head on. He sat down, settling into his bedding like an oversized chicken. The naga beside of him poked her head out of the knot she’d tied herself into, green eyes focused on Blaise. The arraneum blinked back at her glare. “What?” he asked.

“...I’m hungry.” She muttered, mouth covered up by her tail. She started to unfurl, sluggish as she was. It was undeniable that she was growing increasingly drowsy, her body shutting down for the long sleep ahead. The energy that had burst out of her come fall had worn itself dry, leaving her groggy and torpid.

Blaise waved his hand, standing up before she could completely unravel herself. “You stay in bed, I’ll go and find something.” He told her. Louise’s eyes flashed to follow the man as he started away from his bed. Darting her tongue out, she lifted her torso onto one hand.

“Wait a minute, you caught food yesterday, and the day before that even!” She protested. “It’s my turn to do it. We’re working for each other, remember?” Louise called after the arraneum. He was already half-way out of the cave when his ears perked up. Blaise turned around to face the naga. Looking back, Louise was making her way out of her ball and towards standing up.

“You just told me that you feel cold.” The man replied. “I know I tease, but really, you shouldn’t be out with your body the way that it is. I don’t want you to get sick out there.”

An annoyed sigh rolled out of Louise’s throat like steam. “What’s with that attitude?” She barked. “Are you just trying to take it easy on me because I’m a girl? I can take after myself just fine you know, I lasted two years out here on my own before you came around. Don’t treat me like I’m not even capable of feeding herself.” She growled, moving stand up.

Blaise stamped one leg on the ground. “I know you’re capable of taking care of yourself! If I’d thought that you weren’t any stronger than I am, then I never would have suggested we do this in the first place!” He snapped back at her. The woman stopped in her tracks, shocked by his uncharacteristic outburst. Blaise took a long breath outwards, tension falling from his shoulders. “I’m sorry Louise. But really, I just want to make sure you’re comfortable. I care about you, and I don’t want you to go hungry as long as I’m here.”

The naga sat back down from where she’d been half-standing. Her look was quizzical, and her eyes ran up and down Blaise’s body like he’d suddenly turned orange. “...Care? About what?”

“About you!” Blaise told her. “We’ve been living together for weeks now, and in that time you’ve fed me and let me live in your cave... Gosh, you even let me talk about things that nobody else would want to listen to. I think by this point I can at least call you my friend. It doesn’t mean we’re not partners, I just... You know, I don’t like to see you unhappy.” He rubbed his arm as he spoke, avoiding the naga’s emerald stare.

Louise was still for a moment, but then she put her elbow on the ground, and her face in her hand. “Whatever you say, fuzzy.” She told him. “Listen, why don’t you go home while I’m asleep?”

Blaise squawked. “Huh?”

“Sure.” Louise continued. “You’re just gonna freeze to death out here all by yourself. And even if the cold doesn’t kill you, you’re just going to starve. Hell, far as I know, time’s coming around when you spider folk get to ruttin’. Why don’t you bring me back a couple of kids in the spring and let me look after them for you? It’ll give me something to do at least.”

Blaise flushed at the suggestion. “I... Er, I don’t think... No, I’d rather not.” He meeped. “It’s not like an arraneum man to raise his own children, and besides, a hatchling wouldn’t make the journey there and back.” He shook his head, pulling the subject away from that point. “You’re my friend now, so I’ll stay here and make sure you’re safe until you wake up. And that’s what I’m going to do, is look after you, so you stay right there while I go get food. Alright?”

Her jaw opening wide, Louise yawned. “Sure, do what you want. I’m gonna take a nap. Wake me up when you’ve got meat for me.” She grumbled. The woman’s head disappeared beneath a fur again, and she tied herself up in a knot to go to sleep. Blaise turned back around, peeking over his shoulder just one time to make sure that she wouldn’t follow after him.

Blaise popped out of the mouth of the cave. A breeze rolled through, and he clutched the skin around him tight. It was tied to sit over his shoulders like a cape, two corners tied around his collar by strands of web. Looking up the arraneum could see one lonely leaf still clinging to the otherwise barren trees. With its falling would also come the falling of snow, soon enough. Swallowing hard, the arraneum pattered off between the trees.

In the short months that since he’d relocated, the man had been forced to become acquainted with the surrounding terrain. Louise had given him some insight into the most fruitful hunting spots of course, introducing him to all of the meadows and rabbit holes that she’d found in her time there. At this time of year there were plenty of wild turkey and deer running around the mountains, fattened up for winter themselves. On the other end, however, other animals were starting to settle in for winter just the same as his serpentine companion. Food was becoming more scarce for everyone, plant-eaters and meat-eaters alike. Blaise was glad that he’d put on enough fat to insure him through the season.

He crawled downwind of a meadow, smaller than the one he’d first encounter Louise in. Fallen trees littered the ground here, and the grass from summer had shrunk down. It wasn’t the easiest place to hunt, but he’d seen several profitable hunts here so far. Additionally, there was a spot he could wait in that was out of the cold wind. That much made this spot preferable.

Hunkering down between the thick branches, Blaise waited. And waited, and kept on waiting so long that the sky started to turn orange. His stomach growled so loudly that he feared it would give off his location to any wary prey in the area. But he kept on sitting and hoping for something to walk through, thinking of the naga back home. Knowing her though, she’d probably woken from her nap, snatched his net and gone fishing. Blaise hated to think of her out in the cold water all by herself.

Finally, there was a rustling amongst grass. His ears perked up and his eyes dilated, homing in on the source of the noise. As he’d thought earlier, a turkey was walking about in the grass. Silently, Blaise moved his back legs. He kept his eyes trained onto the animal, waiting to see if any others would follow it into the clearing. Meanwhile he spun a thick web, a small net-like structure attached to the end of a long rope. He determined that the bird had strayed from the others, if it even belonged to a group at all.

He didn’t wait long for the creature to move further into the clearing. He darted, and at the first sound of a rustle the bird took off into the air. Blaise held the web that he’d spun in one hand, and he flung it at the bird. The net connected with the animal, and it became trapped inside of the sticky thread. Screaming in terror, it fell to the ground. Blaise yanked the web, pulling the bird across the ground and to his feet. He reared up, smashing the animal’s screeching throat and snapping it’s neck into pieces. It warbled a final cry, going limp beneath the arraneum’s feet.

Blaise smiled, wiping his hands clean. “There we go!” He chimed, pulling the bird off of the ground by its leg. It twitched every few seconds in his grasp, and the man licked his lips at the sight. With the web still attached, Blaise threw the turkey over his shoulders and sauntered off through the woods and back towards his and Louise’s cave. She was going to like this, he told himself. It was a nice fat bird, and would do great on her just before going to sleep.

It wasn’t a long a walk to come back into the open space in front of his home. Blaise ducked into the stone orifice, welcoming himself home between the stone walls. “Hey, I’m back! I caught us a big turkey to eat.” Blaise proclaimed proudly. “Sorry I took such a long time, for a second there I almost gave up. Seems like you’re not the only one getting ready to settle in for winter, huh?”

He moved further inside, and stopped. Louise was still curled up in the same position that she’d been earlier. It wasn’t normal for her to nap for more than an hour. Blaise sat their dinner on the ground, and bumped her back with his foreleg. “Hey, get up. I brought food.” He huffed. He’d braced himself for her sharp tongue to lash out at him, but no sound ever came. Suddenly Blaise was consumed with worry. He bent over the woman’s body, grabbing onto her shoulders. They were limp in his hands.

“Are you alright? Hey, Louise?” The arraneum questioned. She was completely out, almost like a corpse. Blaise’s heart leapt into his throat, fearing that she really had died in her sleep. Lifting her torso up, he placed his ear to her breast, listening for any sign of life inside of her chest.  

A prolonged silence was ended with a single beat from the naga’s heart.

Blaise frowned hard enough for his entire face to sag downwards. He gingerly placed the naga back into the position that she’d settled herself into. Shaking his head slowly, he kept one hand on her back. “Louise... Come on, you can’t do this yet, don’t...” He whined. “I don’t wanna be all by myself, please wake up. This isn’t fair...”

The man’s pleading fell on deaf ears. His friend was out until the cold broke, months on from then. Blaise couldn’t hold back a few tears, brought on by the sudden pangs of loneliness and longing. He thought that he wanted her to wake up and curse at him, to snatch away the bird and eat all of the good bits before he got the rest. Anything. He was so alone.

Worst of all, this was only the start. Winter would be on him in mere days, if not hours, and he was going to have to shoulder it alone. He took the fur from his shoulders, placing it over Louise’s comatose form. All there was to now was to survive, and to hold true on his promise to keep his companion safe over the coming season. If nothing else, he had the thought of her waking up again to look forward to. He could cling to that.

He ate in silence. When he realised later that he’d let his friend go to sleep hungry, he cried even more.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Updates might be slow, I've adopted a new comic project at the moment. However, IFS is top priority, and I'll be sure to have something up within a week if all goes well. As always, comments, kudos, and spreading the word about the story is always well appreciated. Thank you <3


	5. 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is!! I'm working on a very big comic right now, but I'll try to keep updates spaced out in intervals of four days here. also WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER! There's mild detailing of sexual assault, so if that makes you uncomfortable, please skip over the second half of this chapter.

laise shivered. He sat curled up in his nest, a fur held tight around his torso. Louise slept next to him, still as she’d been from the moment her hibernation began.

However, while she was comatose, Blaise had free reign of the cave and the surrounding area. Within the first ten days of her sleep, the arraneum started to spin webs about their dwelling. He had sculpted a net that formed a tight tunnel into the cavern, which helped to insulate the space and keep the wind from blowing inside of it through the wide mouth. In addition, he’d placed several mid-sized webs about the path from home to the stream. That way he stood a better chance of catching food, and he could take inventory on them as he went to the stream for water. However, even with his webs in place, finding anything to eat at all during the winter proved difficult.

Despite the bleak situation, Blaise felt like he was ready for the season ahead. He had plenty of fat on his body, and he’d manage to catch a few things over the winter for sure. As far as he was concerned, this winter in solitude would be comfortable in comparison to those prior.

In fact, at times like these, he was happy to be alone. The naga hadn’t been wrong when she’d noted that it was drawing close to the time where arraneum would go into a kind of sexual frenzy. Blaise shuddered at the thought of what things must have been like back where he’d come from. For years he’d shoved leaves and dirt into his nose just to escape the stench of women around him. He felt antsy, alone or not.

Feeling the weight of anxiety settle onto his shoulders, Blaise set out for a drink of water. It wouldn’t do him any good to keep himself cooped up. He grabbed an empty bladder that he’d saved. The water it held could last him a day without having to return for more, and afternoon was the best time to gather the precious substance. Morning and night were bitter and cold; though not cool enough to prevent torrents of rain. With dark clouds hanging over his head; Blaise hurried to the stream.

The arraneum glanced over his webs along the way, finding that they bore no meat to speak of. Continuing on, he came to the bank of the creek. He placed his lips to the chilly water; filling his stomach with chilly water.

He raised his head. Something felt off- not with the water’s taste or feel, but its scent. Blaise inhaled, examining the odor. It triggered something in the back of his head, a memory trying to come to him. But nothing came. Shrugging it off, he filled the bladder and turned to saunter back home.

A wind came in from the north, and that scent came again. There was something so strong that it ignited in him, causing his blood to bubble. He couldn’t place why, though. He sniffed at the air for several moments; even climbing into a nearby tree to scout out a source. Bearing no fruit; Blaise turned his attention to returning home. In fact, he increased his pace, skittering along nervously. Something in the air didn’t feel right.

He made it home without a hitch. He took one step inside, and paused. His head turned. He backpedaled and stepped into the clearing. He crawled up the nearest tree, inhaling.  The scent seemed to be carried downwind by the creek- probably just a seasonal occurrence, Blaise told himself. He shrugged it off as something upstream. In fact; it was probably the close proximity to the waterfall that created an odd scent in the air.

Convinced by his own argument, Blaise stepped down from the tree. Louise was still waiting for him, suspended in her sleep. The arraneum plopped down next to her, setting the tied-up bladder off to the side. He closed his eyes, his worry floating off of his shoulders.

Something screamed at Blaise’s nostrils. A red, heavy scent that made his muscles hot and his nostrils flare. He jolted up from near sleep, feeling as if the smell had started choking him. He moved without realizing, carried by his hair by the monster. Finally he could pick it out. A woman’s scent, though not from Louise, had captured him.  

Blaise followed his nose, drifting along after it. A sort of haze fell over his mind. His eyelids fell to half cover his vision, and a lazy grin pushed at his cheeks. Hypnotized, he moved closer and closer to the source.

He stumbled, and a bush full of thorns caught him. Blaise cried out as the wooden spines pierced his flesh; blood falling to the ground. The monster in his brain receded, chased away for a mere moment by the beast that was Blaise’s sense of self-preservation.

The man gripped his wounds. What had he done? He’d almost run right into the arms of a hungry, waiting woman. If that thorny bush hadn’t stopped him, he would have kept going. Louise, oh, poor Louise, he thought. She would come looking in spring, and she would find his broken skeleton! She’d feel betrayed, knowing that he’d been a terrible friend for breaking his promise.

With the scent threatening to overtake him again, the man ran as fast as all eight legs could carry him back home. He ducked into the nest with Louise; burying his nose in every stinking old fur that he could find. It helped to drown out the scent, if only in the slightest. His body was freezing outside, and it bubbled below his skin. He vowed to remain in the cave until her presence was gone. If he kept his scent secluded, she couldn’t find him.

His eyes opened up. How was she even here? The season would have only just started, and even if she’d run the whole way, it would have taken at least a fortnight to reach this place. Maybe she’d been a straggler already, but he’d never detected her until now? No, women never left. His mind raced, and his heart pummeled his ribcage.

She was coming closer.

Before he knew it, night’s darkness enveloped Blaise’s shaking form. Her scent was so much closer- but it seemed close to the stream. What ifs ran through his mind, all straying from the fact of his situation. Maybe she was following the stream back home? She could be hungry, and had come to fish. Blaise wouldn’t admit that she’d found his scent- oh, and was she taking her time, strutting to his home with that sweet and fertile scent wrapped around her like a toxic cocoon.

The woman was drawing closer. Blaise’s blood ran cold when he realized that his extra webs could mean his downfall. They were a positive sign that he was located here, and they made a trail straight to where he lay. If she made it here, he couldn’t resist, everything in his head would break. He relaxed for a moment when the aroma moved away. It had come much too close for comfort, and yet... His sense of ease was soon replaced by one of caution. A wanting female wouldn’t just leave when she’d found a vulnerable male. It came to a stop. Blaise could see her location by scent in his mind just as he could have seen her with his eyes. He waited in intense silence; only broken by the sound of his strained heartbeat.

Then, it seemed like his heart had burst. For a split second it had stopped; and his muscles had tightened. What caused his horrified reaction was not an increase in the heavy aroma that clutched and teased his flesh; but the sound that began to creep into his ears. The vicious worm dug its way into Blaise’s brain, eating through him.

Outside, roughly fifteen leaps away, came the soft cries of the woman. The sounds that burrowed into his mind were not of pain, but of a very sweet pleasure. How could Blaise resist now? Was it even possible to endure this much longing, this much needing at one moment? Surely he was being subject to the greatest test of will any man had yet to endure. Nothing could be worse than this.

He let her cry on as much as she well pleased. Blaise ignored her mewls and her whines, curling around the very object driving his will. For every one of Louise’s heartbeats, Blaise suffered a hundred. He could envision the woman, so close... Whining, and her abdomen raised up... Blaise felt like a filthy pervert.

He stuffed leaves in his ears and nostrils. He covered up his head with his arms. He was reduced to hiding his presence from her like a hatchling would hide from a fox. The woman would try her best to attract him; if it was that big of an ordeal to her, she could just go back to the colony! He’d never even heard of a woman spending more than an hour trying to seduce a man- It was the men who’d spend a week without rest searching for a hungry female. Rest found him again, after grappling with his aching mind for the day. For a moment, Blaise was relieved of the horrors that lurked outside of his home.

Blaise awoke some time later. To his surprise, he’d slept through until morning. He’d have expected to be roused out of sleep all night long. Now his nostrils were clogged, he couldn’t even smell Louise next to him. He removed the old leaves from his nose with a groan. He sniffled- as strong as it had been, Blaise was sure that her aroma would have leaked in past the mucus in his nose. She’d moved on! Now he could get some water; he’d dropped all of it out of the bladder in his tension the day prior.

Rubbing his head, Blaise checked on his scaled friend. She was peaceful as ever under her buckskin blanket. Grabbing the animal’s bladder, Blaise made to leave through his web. Half-way through, he stopped. The mucus in his nose was bothering him worse than a thorn in his side. He snorted and spat several times to clear his airway. With the passages from his nose clear; the man breathed a quick sigh of relief through them. He followed through with a long, slow inhale.

He choked half-way through his breath. The scent was back! And worse, it was closer than ever before. It caused Blaise’s eyes to bleed tears, and his jaw lost any ability to remain closed. Like a bee drawn to a flower, crawled forward. He looked like an idiot as he exited the web funnel. His legs were shaking, his mouth was held wide open, his eyes burned and would not shut. They focused on the source of his torment.

The woman sat in the clearing, draped over the fallen tree. Standing, it became evident that towered two heads above Blaise, her soft face torn by a sharp and lusty expression. Her green eyes screamed out at him, predatory in the way they glimmered under her lashes. One hand played with gold hair, long tresses falling over her torso. But what struck Blaise the most was the size of her abdomen. The beautiful sphere seemed like it was already engorged with eggs, but from the scent she was reeking of, she couldn’t have been more empty.

Blaise stepped back. The woman pinned him up against the wall, pulling his arms above his head and slamming them against the stone. A sultry grin graced her lips as she felt his flesh. She was very quickly examining him, eyes running over his body. He would have expected her to laugh and turn from him at first sight- he’d been born the runt, and he’d stayed a runt. Now, he was paralyzed from fear.

“Oh, look at you now... You’re hardly even grown.” The woman cooed. “And you’ve got weird round ears, too... You’re a funny looking little thing- your eyes are awful odd too, aren’t they? I’d think you were human, if not for that hair. I love tarantulas, you know.”

She raised a black foreleg to stroke his belly. Blaise’s eyes darted down for a moment- she didn’t have fur as he did, her body was hard and smooth. A spider... A very gorgeous, fertile spider. She dipped her head down a licked Blaise’s ear. “I’ve been crying for you all night. Didn’t you ever hear me...? I’m so sad that you didn’t come for me.”

Blaise rambled incoherently for a moment. “I heard you, yes, yes I heard you.” He repeated. Though it shivered, Blaise raised up a foreleg to push hers away from his body. “I don’t want anything with you, go away. There are others... There are lots of better men on the other side of the mountain, they’re easy to find. L-Leave me alone.” His voice rattled off of his tongue.

She chuckled. “But I want you, sweet little thing. I’ve been dreaming of someone my age, you’re always so very eager to please... Your skin is soft, I bet you taste sweet.”

Blaise pushed at her, though his resolve was crumbling with each word she spoke. “Listen, I promise that I don’t taste good. I’m not right, like you said- my eyes and ears are weird, so’s the rest of me! Just go find someone else, I’m just a runt. I’m not that young, I swear it.” He was pushed back further against the wall.

Her eyes darted to the cave mouth, and then back to him. “I can make a deal with you, then.” She paused. “But, there’s one little thing you’ve got to let me have in return. Okay, fuzzy boy?”

Blaise’s breathing was heavy. What did she want? His web? To steal him away to some other place? Only one limb? “...What is it?” he asked. She was so close to him. He could feel her breasts against his chest, both forelegs pressed against his body. He watched her look back inside the cave again. His heart sank when he realized that her glances were directed straight at Louise.

“I’ll let you go- but you’ve got to save that that juicy hunk of meat you’ve got back there for me- in fact... Why don’t we share?” Her words were whispered into Blaise’s ear. The man’s eyes shot open. She was threatening to kill Louise.

Everything in Blaise’s body snapped, exploding with energy. He let out a scream so fierce that it could have shaken the earth. Randomly scratching and biting, kicking with all he had, he tried to force the woman away from him. He slashed her arm, and the larger creature screeched like a hawk.

The woman retaliated immediately. She reared up on her hind legs, smashing Blaise to the ground. Her teeth tore out a hunk in his neck. She had him pinned, but the superior muscles in Blaise’s tarantula legs sent her rolling into a tree. He leapt atop of her; turning the tables. With another ear-ripping scream, he raised his hand into the air. Blaise slashed the woman’s face; and blood exploded from her eye and nose. She wailed in agony; rolling away from him. The woman tried to stand several times- before Blaise could come in to bite her neck, she made a retreat. Escaping into the trees; she crossed the treeline.

The man stopped chasing her there. He bolted up the nearest tree; yanking himself to the top. Blaise tossed his head back and screamed into the air- his voice so fierce that he felt like the whole world could hear him. It was a siren of warning. Nobody would be allowed to hurt his only friend- no arraneum, no animal, no living thing would escape without experiencing his wrath firsthand.

Breathing heavy, Blaise climbed down from the tree. He spun away and covered his neck with a patch- the adrenaline had kept him from noticing the bite until now. His wound burned; but he felt assured that it would not kill him. With his head held high in the glory of his victory, Blaise returned to his friend’s side. Sadly she’d never know of how she’d been saved from the rotten woman... But then, the young man thought- it wasn’t unlikely that his opponent was actually a very nice person. She was only captured by her body’s needs, just as he’d been. He hoped to see her again one day and apologize for the wounds that would scar her face, maybe even blind her on one side. But now he took the greatest sense of fulfillment in knowing that he’d saved the life of someone that he cherished.  

He lifted the buckskin off of Louise’s body, just to be certain that she was really fine. As far as her outward appearance could tell him, the naga was in perfect condition. He brushed a torn leaf from her shoulder, and returned her blanket. She never once stirred, as she would if he’d dare to take her covers any other time of year. Blaise blinked, and ran his thumb on Louise’s cheek.

A little smile crossed the man’s face. Blaise leaned down, pecking the woman on the lips. His ears perked up- he’d expected them to be stiff, but they were soft as they could ever be. Nuzzling against her cheek, Blaise lay down. He remembered his original intention to go to the stream for water- but he had little doubt that his adversary would be there, washing her wounds. He needed to let all of the adrenaline in his system pass as well. He found cuddling to be a nice way to relieve his stress from the fight; much as the bite in his neck pained him.

Blaise cooled down completely. He decided on a quick nap to help his wound heal. Before he went to sleep, he watched Louise’s slow breaths. The way she made him feel was odd... It was stronger than any friendship he’d experienced. On the other hand, it wasn’t the burning, terrible desire to impregnate her at any cost to his own well-being. He wanted to hug her, and kiss her, but he didn’t want to hold her down and bite her. He’d had lots of friendships with men, he’d been attracted to another male here and there. But nothing felt the same as this. Maybe it was just because she was a girl?

He closed his eyes, resting his body and wound. For today, he’d won against his fears. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! And if you did have to skip the second half of this chapter, it basically went as follows: Blaise goes outside, finds a lady spider, she tries to feel him up a bit, threatens to eat Louise, and then she and Blaise throw down. She gets a torn open face and Blaise gets a big bite on the nape of his neck. I'll be sure to update soon, and as always, kudos, con crit, and comments are well appreciated! Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, sorry it's a day late, but I wanted to include the usual illustration on tumblr! I was behind on my lyric comic project yesterday, and had to catch up. Nothing too graphic in this chapter, so read easy!

The trees that had been stripped by autumn were weighed down by snow. The mountains had been covered in a thick comforter of the icy powder, hiding the grass and greens beneath it. Winter had come, its chilly claws wrapped around everything that tried to hold on through it. As it went on, the young arraneum found himself doing little more than sleeping and eating what came his way in one of his webs. It was too cold to do much of anything else without feeling miserable. Dreaming, at the very least, provided him with some relief with the frozen world. He found time slipping past, and he had little idea of how much time had passed for himself and the comatose naga.

Blaise trudged through the layer of snow that covered the ground. Though it was still very much winter, grass had begun to peek out of the white blankets. He parted some of the cold fluff away, and beneath it was still as green as ever.. He wondered if the grass ever died- it seemed the most fundamental necessity to life in the forest; even if he were a carnivore. His prey would die without the grass, and without them, he wouldn’t be around for long.

He stepped away from patch that he’d cleared. The arraneum was on his now rare trip for water. As he spent days at a time sleeping, his need for food and water adapted with his behavior. Louise was smart for going to sleep all winter. He hoped that the season would grow weak soon, allowing spring to roll over the forest.

As he came to the edge of the stream; the minnows almost seemed to be laughing at him. If only he didn’t have fur, then he could stand inside and fish with a net. However, one step into the clear water would turn his fur and legs to ice. He only had the nerve to drink from the freezing water. It tore its way into his belly like a rat, and only warmed when it hit the pit of his stomach. Shaking his lips free of fluid, he straightened his back to sit up.

Something happened. The strangest sound that Blaise had ever heard, off in the distance, but something that must have been deafening at the source. It was as if the gods had opened up the sky and torn the mountain in two.

All of the remaining birds took to the sky, scrambling for safety somewhere in the air. The wind blew in past his face, the sleeping trees cringed. The essence of forest itself was afraid of whatever had made the hellish noise. Blaise turned towards it, waiting for the monstrous thing to call again.

Another sound ripped through the forest- much more familiar to him than that before. Shrieks from a panicked creature tore into Blaise. It took no more than a moment to identify the throat from which the terror-stricken cries originated. He bolted off on his eight legs, kicking up dry snow.

“Louise!” He called out. How on earth had she woken up so suddenly? No amount of his yowling would stir her, but this had roused her not only to wake- but to shriek like no other woman he’d ever heard. He shouted after her again.

The man skittered into the cave, and came to a halt as he found her. She couldn’t stand; but she tried with everything she had to get up off of the ground. The naga’s eyes were wide open as she screamed, scratching into the stone floor. Blood dripped where she’d broken her nails clear from her skin . Blaise hurried to her, lifting her up from the ground. She pushed at him with all of her might- which was very little at the moment.

“Don’t take me back, please god, don’t take me back!” She howled. “Take the guns away, please put them away!” Louise rambled on, tearing at Blaise’s flesh blindly. The man hissed. He grabbed her hands and pushed her back onto the floor. With little effort Blaise pinned his friend to the ground, even as she thrashed and yowled.

“Louise, hey, it’s me.” He said quickly. He smacked at her face with one hand. “Come on, it’s just little old Blaise. Remember? Your friend? Come on Louise, you’ve got to pull it together here. Nobody’s going to take you.”

Louise’s head rolled for a moment. Finally, her eyes focused on Blaise’s face. “You...” She breathed, speech slurred. The arraneum nodded quickly. He released Louise’s hands, sitting on top of her body to keep her still. But he kept his face close, so she could see.

“Yes, yes it’s me, Blaise.” He responded. Louise looked about the area dumbly as he spoke- but after a moment she refocused on him.

“Not a man...? You’re not... Gonna take me to the circus?” She questioned, slowly. Blaise nodded up and down quickly in response. Though he was unsure of what a circus was- it seemed to be the object of his friend’s fears. He caressed her hair with his palm.

“No, no. I’m not going to take you to the circus... Go back to bed now Louise. A man isn’t going to come and take you away to anything.” He cooed. Louise nodded her head slowly, up and down just a few times. It fell down, and her eyes fluttered shut again. An instinct drove the woman to coil up tight, exactly where she stood. Louise returned to her sleep as if she’d never been bothered.

With a sigh, Blaise pulled her up. Now that all of the panic was out of the way, he noticed the sticky threads she’d tangled all around herself. It must have come from her thrashing in his bed as well. He placed her in her own nest with great care- she fit snug into the indentation her body had made over the past months.. Over to the side sat her deer’s fur. Blaise replaced it over her body, watching for a moment as her breathing slowed down to the previous, nearly invisible rate.

Though he was tempted to hop right into his little cup along Louise; he was too overtaken with a frightful sense curiosity. What was a circus? Some humongous beast, which called for its prey with that sound that defined fear? He wrapped himself in fur, securing it around his shoulder with strands of web. He would only search for an hour, he told himself. Just until the sun started to come down. The forest wasn’t safe at night, even during the dreadful winter months. In fact, with night ruling over day, winter was then time in which the dark was at its worst.

With the sun still high, Blaise set out. The sound seemed to have come from the west- a little ways down the mountain, but not too far. He lifted his nose up into the air and smelled the environment. Nothing but the scent of old snow met him. He continued on, trying familiar spots. He made for the meadow, where he would be able to spot any kind of creature that would have made the sound. Blaise crossed carefully into the open area. He went to stand on a stone; peering about. He tensed, ready to fight or fee, as something came rattling towards him through the tree.

Across the field, a doe collapsed. She was bleeding profusely, the red fluid dripping down her side and over her leg. Blaise watched as she collapsed onto the ground; heaving her final breaths. With caution, he approached her body. With each second, more of her blood poured out onto the snow, leaking life. She did not move when Blaise came to her side- she caught his eye for a moment, and then looked to the side. Blaise followed her line of sight, turning his head.

A buck approached her. He hardly had the time to count the points on its rack, or to measure the height. It was humongous, pushing through the snow and into the ground with each step.

Blaise backed away from it and the doe. The two animals looked at each other for a moment; the buck leaning down to huff his warm breath over her face. The doe’s eyes faded, and her head dropped to the snow. Blaise stared at the gaping hole in her side- it was not a bite, or a scratch. It was just a hole. Like a void of death torn into her heart. It scared him to the point of shaking.

Just as he approached the body, the stag pressed his hoof into the snow. Blaise’s eyes darted up to meet those of the animal. He looked into them, and for some reason, he felt that the deer could understand him. He opened his mouth, lip quivering.

“What happened? I don’t understand, why did she die?” He asked. “I heard that noise, and then Louise got really scared... I came out here to look for it, did that thing kill her? I’m scared, I don’t want it to kill me too.”

The buck huffed. And, to Blaise’s surprise, it opened his mouth. “You should leave this place. Take the naga and go back to where you came from.”

Blaise’s jaw hung open for a moment. “You... But wait, I can’t just take Louise and leave! I don’t want to go back to the others, I hate it there, I’ll be killed if I go back! Surely there’s got to be something else? Why won’t you tell me what did this?”

It walked away from him.

...

 

Blaise’s head shot up. He looked about frantically for the buck, finding nothing but dark stone walls around him. He looked down. He was in his nest, lying down right next to Louise. Had it all been a dream? The buck and doe seemed to have been a dream. He must have sat down while returning Louise to her bed, and fallen asleep after his sprint from the stream to home.

He gripped Louise’s body. The dream had seemed so terrible and real! It was a frightening idea, to just whisk Louise somewhere far away.

Blaise stood up. He could afford a quick walk just to get the nightmare out of his brain. He trailed a leaf on the bottom on his leg. The snow outside was continuing to recede, little by little. It was soft and slushy beneath his feet; melting down into the grass. He smiled- finally, spring would come soon! A break from this horrid cold would be wonderful. And best of all, Louise would wake up- he wouldn’t have to keep such a strict guard over her sleeping body anymore.

He started his walk through the forest; and he looked at the snow for tracks he could have made before, on his way to the meadow. The snow was clean and untouched. His tracks wouldn’t have melted down in so short of a time- then, how long had he been sleeping there? It was very likely to have been a day or more, given the lengths of time he’d been sleeping lately.

Turning back, Blaise examined the snow again. No tracks but the fresh ones he stepped over- rotations of eight round holes in the snow below his body. His walk accomplished nothing, it seemed. He returned home with a heavy mind, dwelling on his vision of the two deer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If all goes well again, updates should come in four days! As always, comments and kudos are well appreciated <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Kinda rushed, this isn't my favorite chapter. Things really start rolling for this story next chapter, if I remember well. Haha, with the way I'm taking it, this story feels more like a movie than a book. Woops! Anyway, nothing heavy in this chapter :>

Blaise sneezed. He’d discarded the deer skin that he typically wore around his shoulders during the last winter, but now that the snow had cleared, he didn’t have any need. In hopes that Louise might wake soon, the young arraneum had taken to cleaning up their home of all the webs that he’d spun. They were pulled down from the walls easily enough, a strand hanging here and there. Nothing that would bother the naga, he was sure. Perhaps not so sure- she had such a strange mindset about her. Dust came flying from the cobwebs bundled in his web and into his nose, causing him to sneeze obscenely loud.

He looked up into the sky, standing at the cave’s mouth. The birds were still returning, it seemed. Other creatures started to come out of their long sleep, and soon does would begin to have their fawn, some certainly sickly enough for Blaise to eat. However, he’d found some luck in catching a rabbit. What remained of it hung in the back of the cave, ready to eat. He made sure to put some of his food aside each time, knowing Louise would have to be hungry when she returned to the waking world.

He took the knotted up webs and tossed them out beyond the trees. They weren’t so sticky that anything would be easily trapped in them, so he didn’t bother to take them out and throw them in a safe place. Turning back around, he sauntered back into the save. He stopped when something echoed off the walls, rattling out from deeper in the cave.

“God damn, I slept awful...” He heard a grumble from the back of the cave. Louise had her torso propped up on both elbows, hair tangled and voice dry. She looked up at Blaise, squinting her eyes. “You look awful... Like you haven’t eaten in months or somethin’” She blinked, and lowered her head back to the ground. “...’s it spring?”

Blaise, who had jumped well over a foot in the air after seeing the woman stir, nodded his head. “It is! Nothing’s started blooming yet, but the sun’s out and the birds are coming back!” He chimed. As he did, Louise had grabbed onto the cave wall, trying to steady her stiff body enough to stand. “Gosh, am I glad to see you Louise! It’s been a long time, and I’ve missed you, and I-”

“Blaise-”

The arraneum, who stood right in front of the wavering naga, kept blabbering on. “Made sure just now that I cleaned up all the webs I made, and wouldn’t you kn-”

“Blaise get outta the way, ‘ve gotta take a shit.” Louise grumbled, weakly pushing the arraneum out of her way. Blaise zipped his lips, side-stepping out of her way. Embarrassed at his own blubbering, he sat down in his bed while Louise slithered off. He couldn’t help but bounce on his knees though. It had been so long, all of this felt something like a dream. He’d have to keep an eye out for talking deer in the meantime.

It was some time later that Louise’s body emerged from out of the woods and back into the clearing. While he expected that she’d come back inside, he watched her veer to the right instead. The arraneum started up and skittered out of the cavern, following after her.

“Hey, where are you going?” He asked. The sluggish woman turned towards him, looking at Blaise as if he were stupid. And, that’s probably what was going through her head anyway.

“‘m thirsty. I’ve gotta go get some water.” She responded in a hoarse tone of voice. Blaise sauntered over to her, gently taking her by the shoulders.

“I’ve got some inside the cave, you don’t have to go all the way out there right now.” He told her. Louise’s expression changed, and she seemed to be thinking on it for a moment. With weak muscles she pushed him off and turned back towards the cavern. Blaise trotted along at her side, carefully making sure that she wouldn’t slump over and fall. Louise made it back into the cave without a hitch however, settling in her bed. Blaise pulled a tied-shut bladder from the back of the cave, carrying it to her.

When offered to her, the woman took the makeshift canteen hungrily. Blaise watched her practically tear into the thing, gulping it down. After months without anything to drink, he would have been just as thirsty, he thought. Louise hissed as she finished off the last of it, tossing the bag to the side. She made to get up again.

“Now, let’s get something to eat...” She grumbled. Blaise stopped her again earning nothing more than a sour look from the woman. Her pointed ears were pinned back against her hair, and her nose was scrunched up with distaste. The arraneum gulped, and stumbled over to the spot where he’d hung the remains of his rabbit.

“I’ve got some leftovers here if you want them, I thought you might be waking up soon...” Blaise scratched the back of his head. His face had become hot all of a sudden, from what he supposed was embarrassment. “So I thought I’d start saving bits of what I’ve caught for you, in case you were hungry.”

Louise’s scornful glare had dropped from her face completely, replaced by confusion. Perhaps a bit of surprise too, her eyes wide open and her ears having relaxed. “...You saved some for me?” She asked, in a voice that Blaise had never heard before. She almost sounded like a child, pointing at the meat that Blaise had pulled down.

“Mhm. I didn’t want you to go hungry.”

Louise’s look became something almost distraught. “You idiot, have you seen yourself? Your face is thin, your ribs are poking out everywhere... You look like you’ve been dragged to hell and back. You should be focused on taking care of yourself.”

Blaise blinked. Looking down at himself, it was true. He’d exhausted everything that he had just to stay alive over winter. Not that every year didn’t leave him looking like this while he’d lived alone, but to someone else, it must have been a shock to wake up to.

He met Louise’s saddened expression with a smile. He tore open the web pouch, handing the leftover meat and bones to her. “It’s alright. I want you to have it. I’m used to this, after all.”

The naga looked down at the food in her hands, blinking at it repeatedly. “Blaise, I don’t get it. Why are you always so nice to me?” She questioned him. Blaise wasn’t quite sure how to react to the Louise that he was seeing at that moment. In fact, he wasn’t so sure how to answer that question at all. Any other person he would have probably left to find food for themselves. He shrugged, and kicked one foot against the stone floor of the cave.

“You’re the only person I’ve got, Louise. I want you to be happy.” He told her, feeling that at the moment, it was the most honest truth that he could give to her. The naga stared at him for a couple of seconds more. Then, without warning, she broke into the meat with as much hunger as she had the water.

Blaise laughed, listening to her teeth smack together as she ate. He gave the woman a firm pat on the back. “Don’t make yourself sick Louise, that wasn’t what I wanted at all.” He advised. She hummed in agreement, taking in her food at a pace that was more careful.

The man licked his lips subconsciously. He watched Louise’s mouth as she ate long teeth and thin lips moving. Her cheeks were flushed from all of the sudden moving around, and her hair was still tousled after such a long sleep. Blaise still didn’t know how to feel about her.

She peered up at him from where she’d sat down, her pupils shrunk down into menacing black slits. Blaise jumped, and set about picking up the webs he’d left from the animal’s body.  Louise continued stuffing herself, never questioning him. Blaise focused his attentions elsewhere.  He didn’t want to be caught gawking at her a second time.

He paused, balling the webs up between his hands. “I missed you so much Louise...” The arraneum muttered. Louise’s look once again softened, and her tense shoulders relaxed. Blaise put a hand on her shoulder, and he saw the woman’s pupils turn from slits to the usual circle. Her food almost picked clean, she put her hand on Blaise’s shoulder. She dragged it down, slipping her arm under his, and before he knew it, Blaise was being wrapped around.

“Louise?” He meeped as he felt her tail slithering over him.

The woman pulled herself closer to his body. “You’re warm.” She told him. “It’s still so cold. I don’t feel good...” She admitted. Blaise was surprised by her sudden touchy-feely behavior towards him. If it was enough for her to cling to his body heat, she really must have felt ill. She did feel awfully chilly. “Were you really lonely without me? I thought that after a few weeks of having to hunt by yourself again that you would have just left me behind.”

Blaise shook his head. “I’ve been here! I’ve had to protect you more than you may think- I’ve got this to prove it, too.”

Louise was perplexed. To ease her confusion, Blaise tilted his head. He sported a scar where the other arraneum had ripped out a hunk of his flesh. “I wasn’t the only one like me in this part of the forest, I guess! But I chased her right off.”

Louise reached out to pet the area. “I can’t see it well... My sight’s still fuzzy right now. But it feels terrible... Was she looking for sex, then? Did you manage to make yourself into a father then, ya big fuzzy stud?” Louise was joking with him; but the comment made Blaise flush.

“Oh, no. She offered to do that only if she was allowed to eat you first. I made it out with this- but the right side of her face won’t ever be quite the same after what I did to her. I might  have gone too far and ripped out her eye. I chased her off- couldn’t get a very good look.” Blaise regaled the tail of his triumph against the woman.

“You saved me from her, then?” Louise asked him. “Why didn’t you just give me up? I wouldn’t have felt anything if I’d died.” Louise was shocked more than impressed by his efforts.

“Well, I could have sex with as many women as I’d like.” Blaise argued. “But I can’t replace you.” He told her. Louise smiled, despite how dreadful she felt.

“That’s... Well, that’s a very sweet thing of you to say Blaise. I won’t have another one of you, either I guess. You’re the only friend I’ve had in a very long time, you know. It’s been a couple of years. I shouldn’t get into it now though, or you’ll start asking questions.” She let out a yawn. “Thanks for looking after me, you big furball.”

Blaise watched Louise slump against him, growing drowsy. He chuckled. “Going to sleep again? You just had several months of it!”

“Yeah... Guess I’m not used to being awake yet.” Louise continued to use Blaise as her cushion.

“I’m just teasing. You go to sleep now, I’ll be right here.” The arraneum cooed to her. Louise was more than willing to oblige. However, she moved to lay down- placing her head on Blaise’s furred abdomen. In only a few moments she was off to sleep again- but now it was obvious that she was alive. Her chest rose and fell, and the tip of her tail flickered from time to time. Blaise looked down at her, heaving a sigh. “Glad to have you back.” He whispered, but only to himself.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! As always, updates will come in four days or less, and comments and kudos are always well appreciated!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. Here's this chapter. 8);;;; Sorry it's late, I was finishing up my comic project and didn't have time to work on it!

Blaise spent the following days running back and forth as Louise settled back into life in the waking world. After her long sleep, the naga would need a fair amount of time before she came back to her usual self. The variations in temperature that one could expect with early spring often left her feeling ill, curled up in a tight ball to keep out of the night’s chilly air. Blaise offered up his own body as a kind of heating pad for her, and she would accept or decline depending on her overall mood.

When she did curl up around him, Blaise noted that he’d never recalled her scent being as nice as it was. Then, Louise had never been one to get particularly close to him in the first place, it was more likely that he was just noticing. He never commented on it to her. Besides acting as a type of furnace, Blaise would help by bringing food and water when she felt so awful that it was hard to get up and move around. She argued that she’d been fine on her own before, and that she was perfectly capable, but when presented with meat she never turned it down.

After just over two weeks, the cold air began to give way to the steady temperature of the spring. It rained often, so rather than go out in the mud, Blaise preferred to fish. He made Louise a net, and she’d join in if the water proved warm enough on her scales.

The two stood waist-deep in the water, nets held up, silent aside from the occasional swish of a net. Today the sun was out and shining, and the water carried down from farther up the mountain was warm enough for her body to handle.

Louise had her back turned to him, while Blaise had put himself in a position that made his direct line of vision point at her. Every so often, his eyes would wander away from the water and onto her body. She’d started to gain meat on her bones again, to the point where flesh rolled up on her back when she stood upright. He found himself tracing the scars as well, mystery locked in them that hadn’t been revealed. It was a wonder how much pain Louise had been through up until the point that she met him. Not that it was really any of his business. He had secrets too.

The woman moved, swinging her net down into the water. Blase heard a quiet noise of victory escape her as a fish came back out inside of her net. A snap, and the fish was dead; allowing her to slither onto the shore to eat it. Blaise looked away again, focusing on the water in front of him. But when nothing came up beneath the surface, his gaze wandered back again. Louise lay sprawled out in the grass just beyond the rocky bank, pulling meat from bone between her lips.

Her eyes flickered up. “What?” She asked, mouth half-full. “Something wrong?”

Blaise’s shoulders tensed. “No, I just thought I heard something over that way. Sorry.” He told her. He turned back again, internally cursing himself. He didn’t want to stare, but something about Louise just recently made his eyes drift over to her time and again. It was a similar feeling to when he’d look at a man he found that he liked in the summer. Even at twenty three years old, he’d been too sheepish to act on those desires. He’d never thought it was possible to be inclined that way towards a girl.

But, just as it had before, those feelings would surely come to pass. Blaise peeped again, and this time, he caught Louise already peering at him. She had her cheek resting on her fist, tail flicking back and forth at the end. That little flicker was enough for the arraneum to know that she was debating something inside of her head. The look in her eyes, however, gave him some inclination as to what it might be.

“Something the matter?” He tried not to squawk. “Now you’re looking at me funny, Louise...” He trailed off, watching her stand up. Her body slipped back into the water, coming towards him. Blaise held his net up close to his chest, and she took one hand away into both of hers. She moved back, gently pulling him.

“You should come with me.” She told him, letting go of his hand. Blaise lowered his net, and as she moved back towards the bank, he took one step towards her.

“Where are we going?” He asked. Louise gave no answer, and he started walking after her. Blaise abandoned his net at the bank, dropping it on the rocks as he trailed after the woman. “Hey, Louise!” He called. The naga paused, peered at him, and kept going. She’d move a ways forward, stop, and then look over her shoulder to make sure that he was still following. Blaise stopped as well, only advancing to follow her. He didn’t know what kind of strange game she was trying to play, but he could guess. The woman took him no farther than the mouth of the cave, where she finally stopped long enough for him to catch up.

Blaise stopped in front of her. He noted that she held herself at his height, rather than above it as she normally would. “Gosh Louise, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden? Are you not feeling good again? Why’d you make me come back here?” He questioned.

Louise smiled, eyelashes fluttering at him in a way that made his muscles tighten. This was starting to turn in the direction that Blaise didn’t want it to go.

“Listen, Louise-” Blaise started. He couldn’t finish before a pair of lips were on his, shushing him. Most of him was thinking of how nice the sudden warmth felt, but there was a strain of terror that made him back away. “Hey, can you-” He stammered as Louise started backing him into the cavern. Blaise’s heart was racing, and he almost tripped backing away from her. “Louise, stop it. “ He told her.

The woman backed him into a wall. As soon as her hands touched his hips, Blaise snapped. He kicked her, tossing the woman off of his body. “I told you to stop it!” He hissed. The hairs on the lower half of his body bristled, and he stood ready to make her back off again if he needed to.

He glared at Louise, whose wanton expression had melted away into surprise. Almost like she’d seen a spirit, she ran a hand over where Blaise’s foot had connected with her. She stood back up from where she’d been knocked over, shaking her head. “Blaise, I’m so sorry.” She told him grievously. “I shouldn’t have thought, just because you’re a man...” The woman didn’t make eye contact with him, shrinking down in her shame.

Blaise relaxed, his body settling. “It’s alright.” He told her. The man put his hand on the back of his neck, averting her eyes as well. “It’s not that I’m really against that sort of thing... I mean, it’s not like I don’t think sex is a good thing or-” He stopped himself, shaking his head. “ It’s just that I don’t think you really understand what it’s like for me.”

Louise looked back to him, cocking her head. Blaise’s gut sank, and he kept on speaking. “Back where I come from... Well, arraneum women, they’re not like most other animals. Every year, right after the time where you’d go to sleep, women start to smell different. It’s this weird, awful smell that makes men act funny. It makes you want to have sex, and if you do...” He gulped, his shoulders shaking. “If a man has sex with a woman, she’ll find him and eat him.”

Blaise had started to feel tears rolling out of his eyes at this point. “I left because I’m so scared. I don’t want to die, I don’t want a girl to find me and eat me. I’m some kind of coward, and I don’t know why.” He sniffed, wiping off his face with his arm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to kick you, I’m just so frightened of that kind of thing. I know you’re not an arraneum, but I’m still so scared.”

Louise stood and listened to him, her ears lowered down and her expression almost heartbroken. “You don’t have to apologize to me. You’re right, I didn’t know about that...” She took a deep breath. “But I promise- I’m not going to eat you.”

Blaise lifted his head, sniffling. He turned back towards the woman again. He looked at her, took in the sight of her body, everything so different from any woman he’d ever known. This had to be different too. Louise could hurt him, and very well would if she felt like she had to, but Blaise didn’t believe that she’d try to bring him harm now.

“Would you... Come over here?” He asked, sheepish. Louise slithered to him, the sound of her scales sliding against stone nearly lost beneath Blaise’s pounding heart. She put her hands on his face, sliding them down to wrap them around his shoulders.Their lips locked together again. This time, Blaise felt uneasy, but not panicked. The naga’s body was hot against him, and in seconds he was tangled up in it. A moment later, he’d been eased onto his back, and the woman’ body was moving over him like warm water. He felt lost in the movement around him, but safe on top of the stone under his back.

He tried to touch back, arms and legs moving against her body. She was smooth everywhere but her back, and touching them intimately, Blaise couldn’t help the sad feeling the rough skin brought. That replaced his nervous tension at least.

Louise’s tail brushed against something on his lower abdomen, and he flinched. The woman pulled back. Blaise pat her tail with one of his legs. “Sorry, I was just surprised. Nobody’s ever touched there before...”

Louise grinned. “You’re a virgin then? I thought so.” She commented. Blaise flushed, embarrassed finally. Louise’s tail touched his member again, swollen and jutting out of the slit close to his spinnerettes. He gasped, and she looked back, tongue darting out from between her lips. “That’s weird, it’s all red and bumpy!”

Blaise sputtered. “It’s not weird!” He meeped.

Louise turned back to look at his face. “Ha, I guess you’re right. Just not what I’m used to.” She leaned down, her lips right on the cusp of his ear. “You know, this is exciting. I’ve never chosen to do this before. You’ve gotta promise not to hurt me either.”

The arraneum’s breath had started becoming heavy. “I won’t.” He made out the words. Louise pulled back up from his face, smirking at him. Her tail brushed against his cock several more times, until Blaise was breathing hard and shuddering.

“Do you want to be inside me then, Blaise?” She cooed. There wasn’t an ounce of shame or embarrassment in her. He wondered if that was a naga thing, or just a Louise thing. Either way, his brain scrambled for an answer.

“Yes, please yes...” He mumbled. Everything that he was feeling was new and confusing, but he trusted the woman with what she was doing. Suddenly his member was engulfed by heat, and Louise was moving on top of him. His head rolled back and stars flashed under his eyelids, mouth hanging wide open. Louise moaned above him, chuckling at his reactions beneath her heavy breath.

Blaise had subconsciously dug his nails into her back, and he wondered if she could even feel the sting of it. He lay back and pulled her farther down onto him with his legs, breathing heavy with every little twitch of her tail over him. The tension in his body was building fast, and Louise wasn’t letting up on him for a second. He cried out, white light in his eyes as the pleasured feelings in him burst.

Louise stopped while he came down from his orgasm, one eyebrow raised. “You came already?” She asked. Blaise blinked between his hard breaths.

“Wh... Was I not supposed to?” He asked. Louise sighed through her nose, and smiled at him.

“Nah, it’s fine. You haven’t done anything like this.” She moved off of him, And Blaise was left missing the heat. “But it’s my turn.”

“Your turn?” Blaise inquired. He turned over, watching Louise sprawl out.

“Mhm. You’ve got to finish me off too, it’s... Well, it’s rude not to.”

Blaise frowned. “I don’t know how.”

Louise tapped him with the end of her tail, pulling the arraneum in closer. “Don’t worry about that, I’ll teach you. Just make sure that you don’t poke me with your teeth, m’kay?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that! I guess I should say that this doesn't mean that Blaise and Louise are romantically involved yet. I was originally going to have a very long chapter, but I figured it'll do just as well to have this and the next chapter split into two pieces. This chapter was enough as is, it's hard trying to make either of them not sound like a mary sue (or mary stu, mind you) Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really 'ehehngnghghg' about this chapter, but I hope you all like it o/!

Blaise lay on his back, chest hot and hair still chilled by sweat. Outside, the sun had begun its descent below the treeline, every second growing closer to the embrace of dark. Louise’s tail was lost somewhere between Blaise’s legs, the tip tucked around one of his feet. The woman’s torso lie next to his, head wedged against his shoulder. From what Blaise could tell, she was entirely content. He stared at her closed eyes for a few seconds, and opened his mouth. At first he just held it open, scrambling for something to say.

“Uhm... Do you feel okay?” He asked. Louise’s eyes rolled open, turning towards his.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t ruin the afterglow now.” She told him, patting his chest with one hand. Blaise wasn’t sure what an afterglow was, but he could assume that it wasn’t something he’d understand. His mind was in a dizzy kind of state, as if he’d just crossed a close encounter with death. Louise’s ears perked up, picking up on the vibe that Blaise’s face gave off. “What about you? You look like you’re not feeling too good.”

Blaise swallowed. “I’m sorry, I just... It feels strange to be alive right now.” He confessed. “I never wanted to act on any feelings I had because I was scared, I’ve always felt like I’d be hurt in the end. The other arraneum didn’t seem to have that problem. But then, they didn’t have the dumb round ears that I do. I guess it’s that part of me that makes me feel so different.”

The naga sat her head on her hand again. “What’s with that, anyway? I’ve seen one other of you spiderfolk, she didn’t look anything like you. I always thought it was just a difference between men and women.”

The arraneum shook his head. “Oh no, it’s not that at all. Men are usually smaller and a bit weaker, but their eyes and ears are different from mine.” He felt his cheeks grow hot. “I mean, I thought by this point you’d be able to tell what’s wrong. My body’s not the same... My skin’s different, and my eyes and ears are different, everything’s strange compared to them. One of my grandparents was a human woman, and even now, I still look like one of them.”

Louise shot up from the nest, sitting up. Her eyes were wide as if she’d just been caught in the den of a cougar. “A human woman? You mean to tell me that you’ve got that in you?” She asked, disgust dripping off of her tongue. Blaise blinked at her, his jaw slightly agape.

“Yes, a little bit.” He told her. “But I’m not like a human, I’m like a normal arraneum.”

The naga held her tense stance for a moment, and then exhaled. “...You aren’t like them, that’s right.” She mumbled, mo to herself than to Blaise. She didn’t lie down again, instead sitting against the wall. “You’re so much different from one of them, I’m shocked. I never would have thought that you could have the blood of one of those awful two-legs.”

Blaise flipped himself over as well, his undersize cold without the woman on top of it. He drew closer to the woman, almost expecting her to push him away. Sitting beside her, Blaise heard Louise hiss out a sigh. “I’m sorry.” Was all that he could think to tell her.

“No, Blaise, don’t say you’re sorry. It’s not you.” She pulled her tail up close to her torso. “Alright, I’ll be straight with you since you were with me earlier. It’s only fair that we don’t keep secrets from one another, we’re partners.” Her eyes narrowed and her brows knitted together tightly. Blaise was completely silent, letting her talk uninterrupted. He was only saddened that her earlier ease had been replaced by a vicious scowl.

“I wasn’t born here. I lived by the sea, in a forest with trees so tall, it would take even you an entire day just to get to the top of them. I was so young, but I do remember that I had a mother, a father, a sister, and a younger brother. I was about two years old when I went out on my own, and I found a piece of meat lying out in the open. I took it- and the next thing I knew, everything had gone dark. When I woke up, I’d been put in a metal box, and I was far away from home.” She gulped hard. Blaise’s gut churned, but he didn’t keep her from speaking. “A human man took me and put me in something called a circus. It’s where they take animals from all over the world and put them in silly clothing, making them dance and do tricks, and whatever humans will laugh at. But other times... Other times, I...” The woman pinched her brow between her thumb and forefinger.

Blaise finally cut into her story, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t have to keep going if it hurts. I don’t want you to feel bad.”

“No, I want to tell you.” Louise told him in an adamant tone.  “ I need to talk about it. If I don’t, it’s just going to stay locked up in my head for the rest of my life.” She stopped for a moment, trying to relieve the pressure inside of her chest. “Sometimes, They’d set me out on a table and tie my arms and the end of my tail down.” Louise coughed, and took a moment to try and compose herself. “And some stranger, a man, would come inside and crawl on top of me, and...” Her eyes closed, and she shrunk up even tighter.

Blaise squeezed her shoulder.  “You don’t have to tell me any more. Please don’t, you’re in pain.” He insisted. The image that had started to bloom in his head was becoming too much for his stomach to handle.

Louise nodded. She dried off the few tears that had welled in her eyes, her grimace returning. “Human beings are rotten creatures, Blaise. They don’t have any threat of death like we do. The whole lot of them live their lives without having to hunt, or having to be afraid of being killed by something bigger than they are. They’re like nothing else I’ve ever seen.”

The arraneum looked to the floor. “I know what you mean. There’s a story that says that humans were banished from the forest after stealing fire from the gods. If you leave the mountains and the trees, the world outside belongs to them.” He stopped when Louise leaned back into him, wrapping herself around his entire body again. Her body felt hot, in need of protection rather than warmth. Blaise pulled his arms tight around her. “No human’s going to take you away again. I’ll make sure of it. I’m just a runt, and I’m not very big, but I’m mean when I want to be.”

There was a damp feeling as the woman’s tears were brushed away onto Blaise’s flesh. She didn’t speak again for a long while, clinging to him like she’d be pulled away into another trap if she let go. Blaise felt the scars on her back, the secrets of the gnarled skin suddenly opened up to him. Like in the early winter, when the arraneum woman had come around in search of flesh to eat, he felt his blood boil with need to protect the woman.

Louise muttered something into his torso, and Blaise couldn’t hear. “What’s that?” He asked, voice quiet.

The naga pulled her head back. “I said, I want you to take me to where the other arraneum are. I don’t want to be alone, I want to be around people that aren’t humans.” She pushed her torso away from his, and looked to the ground. “That’s all I could want. It would be impossible for me to go back to the other naga now... But I feel like I’d have a place with the others like you.”  

Blaise normally would have thought no, there’s nothing that could make him go back there, where he’d risk the chance of being eaten. But now, with his greatest fear overcome, there was a sense in him that he couldn’t be hurt as long as Louise was around. “I will. Don’t worry.” He nudged her face up gently, to look her in the eye. “We’ll go there together. As soon as summer’s here, then we can go. The colony’s easy to find if you follow a creek by where my old web used to be. It’s not safe for you now though, I’d be afraid that it’ll frost over and you’ll get sick.”

Louise nodded. “That makes sense.” She pulled away from him, wiping her eyes and face clean with her palms. “God, I shouldn’t cry.”

“It’s alright, Louise. You’ve got a lot of pain left inside of your heart and your head, and people cry when they’re hurt.” Blaise told her. “You’re free now, you can do whatever you’d like. All that time you were taught to be like a human being. When we go to the colony, they’ll make sure that you’re focused on just being Louise.”

“Right. But aren’t you worried?” Louise asked him in response. Blaise cocked his head to the left, blinking. Louise leaned back into the stone wall. “Of going back there. Earlier you told me that if you went back, you might get eaten by someone.”

Blaise’s mouth dropped open an inch. “Well... I mean...” He rubbed the back of his head. “It’s only a few people every year anyway, I’m just a coward. I’ll be alright.” That didn’t feel right coming out of his mouth, but it was the only truth that would come from his mouth in time. “I don’t want you to be lonely.”

Finally, Louise’s trademark smirk returned to her lips. “I’ve got you to hang around for now, fuzzy. We’ll go when the air’s warmer.” She stood, raising herself higher up on her tail. The moon was high, and Blaise absorbed the image of her stretching in the light that entered the cave. She turned to him, viridian eyes seeming to cast off a light of their own. “Speaking of which, it’s stuffy in here tonight. Why don’t we go out?”

Louise began to slither in the direction of the cavern mouth, and Blaise reached out after her. “Hold on, you’ll get cold out there, I’ll find something for you to wrap around your shoulders.” He stood up, scrambling around in a circle to find anything suitable for her to cover up with.

“That’s why I want you to come with me.” Louise’s voice cut into Blaise’s ears. His head shot up, and then whipped towards the place where she stood. The end of her tail flicked left and right, and her hand was held out to motion him after. Aside from cannibalistic tendency, Blaise thought, she wasn’t unlike an arraneum woman that was in season. Close to insatiable. But, he couldn’t make himself resist, skittering after her.

Later on, when she’d finally tired herself out, Blaise was left to stare with half-closed eyes in what moonlight there was. He wondered if the gods hadn’t brought him to this place to ease the suffering that this woman had been through, or dually for her to calm his darkest fears. His eyes slipped closed, and he thought that no matter the reason that they’d found one another out in the middle of nowhere, he was happier for it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it, finally a bit of insight into Louise! As always, updates in 4 days or less with good luck, and comments, kudos, anything is always well appreciated! Thank you!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just grow increasingly uneasy with every chapter I write of this, wtf. I didn't edit it much because it was like touching wet food that's been sitting in the sink.   
> anyway, I hope you guys like it!

In the following weeks, Spring exploded from the earth. The birds settled in to begin laying their eggs, flowers bloomed, and crickets began to fill the night with their welcome trills. Rain came washing down over the mountains to feed the blast of life, leaving the usual layer of fog thick each morning. It was a great time to relax and enjoy the increasing ease of access to food and warm weather.

Blaise found himself spending his days with Louise, just as they had in the summer. There had been a short amount of time where she’d only wanted to laze about and have sex, but it passed as soon as it came along. Not that she ever came to a complete stop, and she only pushed Blaise along to explore his own desires. It was turning out to be a mild, easy spring, and one that could easily be waited out until the onset of summer. Then, Blaise would take her to the others, and hope that she wouldn’t be rejected by them. He couldn’t imagine that she’d be turned away so long as she wasn’t human.

He’d taken to building a web outside of the cave, spun between the trees on a day where lighting didn’t threaten to knock them down. Down below, moss and mushrooms had started to take root in the tree that had fallen on the day that he and Louise had met.

He did a lot of spinning to occupy his spare time, keeping practiced in a time where he didn’t rely on the structure to serve as his home. Weaving away, he made strips of cloth, and worked on removing adhesive from bags and pouches that Louise could use to carry food with on their upcoming journey.

The sun was high and the breeze was soft one afternoon. Blaise sat high up in one of the trees, weight held steady by one of his webs. Down below, he heard something moving around in the grass. Not to his surprise, Louise had wandered out of the cave. She meandered about outside for a few moments, doing seemingly nothing, and then slithered back into the shade. It had been three times now that she’d repeated the action, and Blaise was starting to grow suspicious.

Before the end of her tail could disappear into the mouth of the cave again, he called out. “Hey, Louise! Is something wrong?” He asked from up above. He watched auburn hair poke out from the cave mouth, the woman’s face turning up to look at him. “You keep coming outside and slithering around in circles, do you want me to come down?”

“No, I’m just antsy because of the weather. Can’t decide if I want inside or outside.” She replied, voice raised so that it would reach him up in the treetops. Turning as if to retreat into the cave again, she paused, and then moved back out into the clearing. “You know, I’m gonna go catch some fish. I’ll be back.”

“Alright, be careful. Just shout if you need me!” The arraneum called after her. Louise was already on her way to the creek, waving a hand to signal ‘ok’. Blaise blinked. Her tail looked like it was moving funny at one point, as if there was a kink inside of it. It was hard telling with her. Blaise was without having any frame of reference as to what an ordinary naga was like, after all. Louise hardly knew what to expect of herself, he thought with a twinge of pity in his chest.

The arraneum shook his head, violet hairs falling into his web. Louise was tough, and she was doing fine on her own. It wasn’t his place to have pity for her. He stood up, descending the tree by crawling down the trunk’s side. He landed back in the grass with a small thud, careful not to jump down and hurt his exoskeleton in the process. He sauntered into the cave to fluff out the bedding while Louise was away. Both of their beds had morphed into one big pile of furs and dry webs at some point, and so long as the naga was without complaint, so was he.

He started turning over some of the flattened out pelts, gently shaking them in order to fluff them up. As he was working, he stepped back. A small noise came from behind him as an object hit the stone floor of the cave. Blaise turned around, back leg raised up from where it had been nudged by the falling object. He spied one of the fishing nets that he’d made lying on the ground, next to the other which remained upright. He cocked his head to one side, and picked up the net that had hit the ground.

“She must’ve forgotten it...” He muttered to himself. Leaving the nest for later tending, he took the net and exited the cave. Louise was likely to already be on her way back for it, but he made out to give it to her anyway.

Half way through the walk from home to water, Blaise realized that the woman hadn’t started coming this way yet. Maybe she’d stopped for water first, and had decided to come back for it later on? The arraneum rubbed one of his thumbs against the object, continuing on.

Almost at the clearing to the water’s edge, Blaise heard a strange noise. Slowing his pace, he creeped up to where the treeline opened up to the creek. His eyes focused on a body, his friend, sitting at the water’s edge. She sat on her tail, hands in her lap, shoulders quivering. Blaise heard the distinct sound of a sob come from her, and he stood at attention.

“Louise?” He questioned. He watched the woman jump in surprise. She wiped at her face while Blaise approached her. “...You didn’t bring a net with you, I didn’t think you’d want to try and catch anything with your bare hands...” He mumbled. Coming up to her side, he could see Louise’s damp face and reddened eyes. She’d definitely been crying, much more intensely than the few stray tears that had been shed when she’d confessed her involvement with humans.

“Thanks.” The woman said, taking the net from him. She sniffled, wiping her nose again. “...I’m sorry, I came out here because I didn’t want you to see me so upset.”

Blaise sat down beside her. “You don’t have to tell me you’re sorry, it’s fine.” He told the woman. “But why are you crying so hard? Did something bad happen?”

Louise’s ears drooped, and she nodded her head. The floodgates already broken, tears were falling out of her eyes again in an instant. “Yes, something’s happened.” She admitted. “I don’t know what to do, and I don’t know how to tell you because I’m so afraid that you’ll be angry at me.” She buried her face in her hands.

“I wouldn’t get mad at you for anything. Promise.” Blaise assured her. He wasn’t sure whether or not to reach out to put his arm around his shoulder, worried himself that she’d snap at the action.

“I can’t go... I won’t be able to make it to move to where the other arraneum are.” Louise sobbed, her voice muffled by her hands still. She pulled it away. “It’s all my fault, I acted like a damn cat in heat without even thinking, I’m such a fucking idiot!” She cursed herself.

Blaise put his foreleg on her tail, patting her. “You’re not an idiot, but what’s wrong that you can’t go? Did you hurt yourself?” He questioned. Louise shook her head again.

“No, I’m not hurt.” She choked out.

“Are you sick? Has your stomach been bothering you?”

“No, that’s not it either.”

Blaise frowned. If she wasn’t hurt, and wasn’t sick, he couldn’t draw any other conclusions. “Well, if it isn’t either of those things, then what is wrong with you Louise?”

As soon as he asked, it was as if Louise’s tears grew twice in size as they left her eyes. Refusing to make eye contact, she looked down at the tip of her tail in shame.

“I think I’m pregnant.” She meeped, like a child that had just been scolded. Blaise’s expression softened, though he remained confused.

“Pregnant...? Why do you think that all of a sudden?” He asked, pausing.

Louise pointed at her tail, towards a spot in her belly that had become slightly raised. It wasn’t anything that he would have noticed unless it was pointed out to him like this. “I’m swollen there, and it feels strange inside. I can’t think of anything else that it could be besides that.”

Blaise rubbed one of his forearms in his hand. “Gosh... When you wanted to do it so much, I wondered if that’s what you wanted.”

The woman straightened herself. “I didn’t think that anything like this could happen...! I mean look at you, you’re an arraneum, and I’m a naga. There’s no way that this should have happened.”

“Well, humans and arraneum aren’t very much alike either, but here I am.” Blaise pointed out. Louise sighed, holding her head in one hand.

“You’re right, I should’ve thought things through...” Louise sniffled. “I’m so sorry Blaise, I didn’t mean for this to happen, it’s my fa-”

“It’s not your fault.” The man interjected. “I should have asked if that’s what you wanted first. We both made a mistake.” He tapped her tail with his foot again.”But, if you are pregnant somehow, you can just crush the eggs after you lay them, and once you heal up we should have plenty of time to go before you need to start eating up for winter again.”

Louise looked at him with shock. “Crush them? What do you mean, crush them? Do I look like some kind of rabid baby-killer to you too?”

‘You too’, Blaise felt those words stick him in the side. “No, no. That’s not what I mean at all. What I mean is that eggs... Well, if for some reason you shouldn’t want them, an egg doesn’t have a hatchling inside for a little while. If you break it a few days after laying it, then there’s nothing inside but goo. It takes time for a baby to actually grow in there, you know.” He stopped for a moment, scratching his neck in an awkward twitch. He shot back up from where he’d been slouching. “But, if you decide that you’d rather keep anything that comes out, that’s fine too! Any of them born would definitely be big enough to go by this time next year.”

The naga had listened to him quietly, and her tears looked to have finally dried. “... You spider folk really are something else.” She muttered. “Thanks. I don’t know what to do right now, though. I want to go to where there are other people, but I don’t know if I could manage to do something like breaking my own eggs open. I’m still so shocked by it all.”

Blaise did reach his arm around her shoulder this time, nudging their shoulders together. “It’ll be alright. You don’t have to decide anything until they’re here.” He stood up, guiding his hand to her own in order to help her to a standing position as well. “But for now, let’s just enjoy the weather and eat while food’s plenty, okay? From what you’ve told me, you’ve been through rougher stuff than just having to lay a couple of eggs.”

The woman laughed. “Well, you’re not wrong. But from what I’ve heard from humans, having a kid isn’t so easy.”

Blaise p’shawed, waving his hand. “Those are humans, what good did they ever do you anyway?” He picked up the net that he’d sat down, and tapped Louise’s stomach with it. “But I still feel like I should be catching food for the expecting lady!”

Louise snatched the net out of his hand in a flash. “I’m not fat enough that I can’t even fend for myself y’know! You sit back and let me do this.”

The arraneum wasn’t able to give protest before she was splashing about in the water, scaring the fish more than she was attracting them. Blaise laughed at her from the shore, droplets of water hitting his face and chest.

He sat in the shade for a long while as she romped about in the water, more active than usual. If her assumptions were right, then she wouldn’t be this mobile for long. He eyed the kink in her tail, and a single thought ran through his mind.

What in the world would a cross between a naga and arraneum even look like? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Updates may be spaced out a little bit, as I really like to include an illustration with every chapter now, and that takes as long as writing the chapter itself. But I'll try to keep it to at least once or twice a week ^o^!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, it's been a month and this is all I've got. I need to get on updating this but it's been.... HHHHHHHH A LONG MONTH

Huff.

The sound was just audible over the breeze that rolled through the forest. Mid-spring sunlight filtered in through the trees, illuminating the mountain and filling it up with warmth. The clearing outside of the naga and arraneum’s home was bright and cozy, so before the world was weighed down by the season’s rain, the pair made use of their time being able to relax in the sunshine.

One of them, however, appeared to be anything but content. Lying on her back with half of her tail draped over the fallen tree, Louise glared up at the clouds. Trailing down the length of her serpentine tail, one could see where it had become thick and swollen. As it would turn out, she’d been right in assuming that she’d fallen pregnant. Once again, the naga huffed, eyebrows tightly knit together to form a sour expression.

Blaise sat just feet away, nestled in one of the layers of his web. The woman’s repeated huffing and puffing reached his ears as he’d been falling asleep, causing him to stir. Shuffling over to one side, the man sat his chin on the very edge of his web. His gaze focused on Louise and her pouting expression, one arm swinging down into the air. Blaise supported his head with the other hand, tiredly watching the naga.

“Something wrong, Louise?” He asked. “You don’t look like too happy... Unless you’re just really concentrated on finding the shapes in those clouds up there.” The arraneum commented. He yawned, stretching several legs as he waited for a reply.

Down below, Louise didn’t turn her head away from the sky to face him. “I’m fine.” Was all she gave as a reply. Though by the snark in her tone, Blaise could tell for himself that she was quite far from ‘fine’.

“Well, you definitely don’t sound like it. Are you feeling sick? Or are you mad at me for something?” He interrogated her further. “I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong today... You’ve hardly spoken to me at all since this morning. I didn’t kick you in my sleep or something did I? If that’s the case, I’m sorry.”

Louise huffed for a third time. She grimaced, and tossed herself to one side, only her back facing the arraneum. “I told you, it’s nothing. ‘M just thinking.” She grumbled. Blaise cocked his head to one side.

“Thinking? About what?”

“None of your business, that’s what.” The naga barked back at him.

The arraneum pushed his torso up from his web out of surprise. He stared at Louise for a moment, wide eyed and taken aback by her sudden change of tone. For fear of being snapped at again, the arraneum gave no further comment. He turned his body around, facing away from her as well. Blaise sat with his head in the shade and his face sunk into a sad pout. In complete silence, he filtered his brain for anything that could give motive for Louise to behave so angrily. The only result that he could come to was that she’d come into a phase where her body was forcing her to be grumpy.

The wind brushed through their clearing again, carrying nothing more than the chirping of birds along with it. Blaise shifted in his web, sighing through his nose. There wasn’t much he could think of doing now, not much that would help, and nothing to say for fear of being rejected again. The spring day lost a bit of its coziness.

His ears perked up when they caught the sound of slithering in the grass down below. Peeking out of the corner of his eye, he saw Louise stand from where she’d been draped over the log. The naga made way for the treeline, and Blaise found the courage to speak up again.

“Going somewhere?” He questioned, peeping at the woman through his webs. Louise’s tongue flickered out from her lips and straight back in.

“I’m going out to kill something.” She stated. Turning on a dime, she made way towards the treeline again. By this point the young arraneum was scrambling out of his web, the trees that held it shaking while he moved. Landing on the ground with a thud, Blaise sauntered up alongside of his companion. She blinked at him impatiently. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Blaise rubbed his forearm with one hand. “Well, I’m hungry too. We’re supposed to be working together, after all.”

“Well, I can do things by myself you know.” Louise retorted, the same bitterness in her voice as before present in her tone. Blaise’s stomach turned.

“I know you can. I just want to help.” He replied honestly. Blaise followed alongside the woman as she gave nothing more to say. Questions swirled in his head, held down by the anxiety bubbling in his stomach. What was wrong, why was she being so moody, what had she been thinking on that had turned her disposition so sour? Blaise gulped down his comments, pattering along at the naga’s side without a word.

Suddenly, the woman stopped. She grunted, looking back at the lump in her tail. Blaise’s heart sank, and he raised one of his forelegs. “You’re sore, I knew it.” He said.

“I’m alright.” Louise hissed, and kept on moving. Again she slowed and stopped, her eyebrows tightly knit together. Blaise approached her again.

“Louise, you should go home. You’re not alright, it’d be good if you left and went back to rest.”

The naga hissed at him, fangs exposed and tongue curled in her mouth. “I told you I’m alright! Stop telling me what I can and can’t do!” She barked. Blaise backpedaled away from her, half afraid that she was going to reach out and bite him. Instead, she rushed past him, turning back towards the cave. The man turned after her.

“Wh- Louise, where are you going?”

“Back home! Go catch yourself something. I’m not hungry anymore.”

Blaise watched as she slithered away from him, movements jagged around the swollen lump. He huffed through his nose, stamping his foot on the ground. “Fine, be that way. See if I care!” He snapped back after her. He turned in the other direction, storming away in the opposite direction of the naga. She could be mean and hateful all she wanted. He’d done nothing wrong, and if she was going to be bitter, then so be it.  

He stomped his way out to the nearest clearing in the trees, hunkering down. The man pouted, eyes less focused on what was ahead of him, and more on the spat that had risen up between himself and the naga. At first, smoke could practically be seen rolling out of his ears. But the more he thought, the more the anger ebbed away into regret. He could have behaved differently, and he was sure that Louise wasn’t going to be so remorseful whenever he returned home.

He gulped. Maybe the cave wasn’t his home anymore? Maybe Louise was poised to send him running out without any shelter, pacing in circles and waiting for him to come back to be chased away. All he wanted to know was what he’d done to make her so angry, or if it was anything that he’d done at all.

Looking up, Blaise saw the ears of a rabbit poking out from the grass. He remained still until the ears came down behind the green cover again. Then, he jumped.

Moments later, he left the clearing. With blood-stained lips and meat in his hands, he stopped. His body was turned to return home, but his heart pulled him back. Was it worth it? He peered down at the rabbit in his hands, and the familiar burn of tears rising washed over his face. He had to go home, or at least try.

With a heavy mind he crawled through the trees, sighing between every couple of steps. It wasn’t normally such a long way back home, but Blaise dragged each of his eight legs along, trailing dust on his feet. As the light of home’s clearing filtered through towards him, he stopped again. Taking a deep breath, Blaise marched forward.

When he entered the clearing, Louise lay curled up in the grass, asleep. Blaise tip-toed up to her body, clearing his throat. “Um... Louise, are you awake?”

“I am now.” The woman snarled, slowly lifting her head out from where she’d tucked it into herself. Blaise shuffled his feet, holding the rabbit that he’d killed with one hand.

“Here, I caught this. I want you to have it.” He told her, offering the carcass. Louise peered at the dead creature, and then up to Blaise’s face. She snatched it out of his hands, never turning her eyes from him.

“Why?” She asked. Blaise blinked, and then scratched the back of his head.

“Well... I think you need it more than I do right now, don’t you?” He replied.   

“Oh you think, huh?” Louise snapped. The naga shot up, carcass still in hand. “Is that what you think? Just because I’m a woman, and just because I’m pregnant, that means that you have to run around taking care of me all the time? That I can’t take care of myself?” She shot at him. Blaise pedaled backwards as she advanced on him, practically shaking the dead animal in his face. The arraneum shrunk down, scared in her sudden explosion of rage.

“Well you know what I think? You can take your stupid fucking rabbit, and shove it up your ass!” Louise threw the animal onto the ground, its corpse hitting the earth with a wet thunk. “This whole time you’ve treated me like you’re pet, you look after me and take my work away from me because you think I can’t do it myself, because you think that I’m not as good as you!”

She continued on her hate-filled rant, continually pushing Blaise to move backwards. The arraneum slowed, His muscles tightening and his blood boiling in his heart. His fur bristled and his chest flushed with heat. Inevitably, it snapped, the rage flying out of his body and out of his mouth.

“Well you’re treating me like I’m a human!” He shot out. Blaise straightened his back, bristling and tense with anger. “You’re treating me like I’m one of them, like I’m one of those nasty fucking two-leggers! Well you know what, I’ve been picked on my whole life for my round ears and my weird eyes, but I’m an arraneum!” Now the movement had been reversed, and he stood practically nose-to-nose with Louise, who maintained her ground. “

I’m not one of those people who hurt you, I’m not a human and I’m not here...” Blaise’s voice cracked. “I’m not here to hurt you like they did. I’m sorry that everything that’s happened has been this way. I want to take you to the other arraneum so that you won’t have to feel like everyone in the world is just going to try and abuse you. I just want you to be happy, just please, for the love of the gods Louise, stop treating me like something that I’m not.”

Fire in his chest burnt out, Blaise had lowered himself down to normal standing again. In front of him, Louise had placed herself lower to the ground as well, ears lax and eyes turned away from the arraneum.

“... Sorry.” She murmured.

Blaise looked at her, look softening. “I forgive you, Louise. I understand.”

The woman turned her head. “What do you mean?”

The man shrugged, heart calming down. “I mean what I mean, Louise. I understand that you’ve never known anything but the humans that were bad to you. I don’t think that you understand what it’s like to be around people who care about you yet.” The arraneum moved past her, picking up the rabbit that had been tossed into the grass. “The gods brought you here to this forest because you were meant to find happiness after all of the bad things that happened. It’s just going to take a little while before you get settled in.”

He stretched his hand out again, offering the animal to Louise. “I’m sorry for babying you. You’re a very, very strong person.”

The naga looked down at the rabbit, then back to him, with remorse rather than suspicion. She pushed it away, leaving Blaise feeling hurt. “...At least take the first bite.” She told him. Blaise’s ears perked up. He nodded his head up and down, biting into the animal’s thigh without hesitation. He ripped away fur and meat, offering the animal again before he could so much as chew. Louise took it, sinking her teeth into the flesh.

She ate, and Blaise sat with her in the sun, a breeze rolling through as if nothing had ever happened. The arraneum stroked the end of her tail with his leg, calm returned to his anger-struck body. “Louise, I don’t know what the human world is like.” He started quietly. “And I’ll never be able to take you back to the other naga. But I promise that life with the others like me is good. You don’t have to suffer anymore, and that’s a promise.”

Louise swallowed. “A promise is a big thing to make, especially one like that. What if they turn me away and call me a monster?”

“They won’t.”

Louise ripped off another mouth full of flesh. “But what if I decide that I want to hatch these eggs and stay here until next spring? What will you do then?”

“I’ll make sure that you’re happy, either way.”

Louise handed him the half eaten carcass. With her arm she wiped her lips free of gore. “And the same goes for you. I’ve been so awful to you, I promise to try and change.”

Blaise shook his head, peeling back skin. “Don’t change who you are, just look from a different perspective. It’ll go a long way once you realize that the world isn’t completely bad.”

“... Thank you, Blaise. You were right.” The woman muttered. She settled down into the grass, shifting her body to try and find comfort.

Gulping down a hunk of meat, Blaise’s eyes followed her down to the ground. “Right about what?”

The woman shuffled in the grass. “I think your gods did mean for me to be here. I’m glad.”

Blaise grinned, sinking his teeth into the rabbit again. “Don’t thank me. Destiny is a powerful thing. From now on, you’ll be the one to decide it for yourself.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took longer than I wanted, but hey, I updated in a somewhat timely manner! Woohoo! And, I actually kinda like this chapter!

The clouds in the sky were sparse, but knit together well enough that they still murmured with thunder every now and again. The storm that had thrown itself on to the mountains in a violent rampage the night prior had calmed into a quiet, drizzling rain. The had thunder clapped and lightning had shrieked in the sky as the clouds beat the mountain with rain. On and on it went for most of the night, only coming to calm once the sun reared its head above the trees.

The early morning was wet and quiet, little more noise than the chirp of birds and the pattering of the rain against the earth. Blaise sat on the bank of the swollen creek, hair dripping from the rain. He bent over to fill a bladder with water, sealing it tight with his web. The man tilted his head back and yawned for the third time since he’d even made it to the stream. In addition to his constant yawns,  Blaise’s eyelids sagged, and his body had begun to feel heavier than he remembered. But, he supposed, it was all for fair cause. The arraneum pulled himself up from where he’d been kneeling on the bank, bag heavy in his hand, and turned back towards home.

It had been a long night for everyone in the forest.  

As he ducked back into the safety of the cave, Blaise shook his lower body, drops of rain water flying until they splattered against the wall. Inside the air was warm and cozy, no sound but for the gentle rain and dripping water on rock. The arraneum approached the back of the cavern, rotating his eight legs slowly on the stone. Once he came to his bed, he placed the bag of water on the ground until it was ready for use. He took a seat on the hard stone floor, his and Louise’s bedding both occupied by one body.

The arraneum yawned once again, pulling his mouth open but keeping the sound inside. Turning his head down, his gaze fell on the sleeping woman. Louise was unconscious, still sticky with sweat, blood, and tears. Her limp tail was coiled around a clutch of four tiny, soft-shelled eggs. Blaise recounted the mayhem that had broken loose in order to bring them out of Louise’s body and into the world. Thunder, lightning and screams coupled with the gushing of rain and blood. But with the first rays of dawn peace finally came. Worriedly Blaise peeked at her chest to be sure that she was still breathing, quickly assured by the slow movement of her stomach.

He’d never expected the awful scene that had unfolded the night before. If he could be certain in one difference between naga and arraneum mothers, it was the amount of pain involved in the process. Nothing could have prepared him for the screams and blood, or the size of what she’d managed to give birth to. Through it all Louise had retorted that human children were larger, and that they came out kicking. Even still, all he felt was guilt for causing her even more trouble than she’d already been subject to. He rubbed one of his arms, where the skin was just starting to scab over from the scratches she’d given by clinging onto him.

Blaise tried to settle in, but his head bobbed up and down from exhaustion. Down below him, Louise shifted. A quiet grunt came from her throat, along with the slow opening of her eyes while her body started up again. She blinked slowly, then pulled herself up onto one elbow. The woman quickly turned her head and peered at the bundle wrapped up between the folds of her tail, and then collapsed back onto the bedding again. Her eyes momentarily sank to a close once more. When they opened, they turned up towards Blaise. The man continued to sit in silence, his tired gaze settled on her.

“You’re up early...” Louise croaked. Any voice that she’d had before had been torn out of her throat by her hours before. Now all that she could manage was a tiny, raspy whisper.

“I haven’t gone to sleep yet.” Blaise replied. “I wanted to be sure that you’re alright.” While he spoke, he grabbed the pouch of water from the floor beside him and offered it to her. “I brought some water though, I thought you might be thirsty when you woke up.”

Louise huffed through her nose. “Stupid, why didn’t you sleep? You’ve probably been up for at least a day now. I’m alright.” Even with her body limp and aching, Louise’s tongue hadn’t lost its edge. Blaise was all but hardened to it now, and was even glad to hear the tone through her aching.  Reaching out a shivering arm, the woman tapped the stone next to her. “At least lie down for a little while.”

Heaving herself up by a few inches, Louise pulled a dragged pelt out from under her torso. Louise sat it where she’d tapped the ground, giving Blaise a place to at least rest his head while she was too hurt to make room for him.

Blaise nodded silently, placing the bladder by her head. While he settled in, Louise took it, pulling at the flesh and pouring the precious water into her throat. She settled down again, giving a heavy sigh as she let her body relax again. Beside her the arraneum took to lying on his side as well, facing the naga. His eyes blinked when a soft grin nestled on Louise’s face. It was another expression that he hadn’t seen before.

“...Doesn’t it hurt?” He murmured. Louise’s eyes were closed, but her ears were at attention while he spoke.

“Mm... It does. But I’m not complaining. It sure beats being pregnant.” Louise returned. “Don’t worry, really. I’ll be fine in a little while.”

Blaise frowned. “Is there anything else that I can do?” He asked, his heart nearly as heavy as his eyes.

“Nope. Stop worrying, that’ll make me feel better.”

The arraneum flopped onto his back. “I can’t just stop. I feel like I’ve caused you so much trouble.” He covered his eyes with his hands. “You’ve gone through so many bad things, and now that I’m around, you’re worse off than you were out here all by yourself.”

“...Who told you that?” Louise questioned. Her eyes opened again, green circles turned towards Blaise. “I never said that I was unhappy. I couldn’t get it out of my head that you’re not human for a while, sure. But if you think I’m pissed because I got pregnant, you’re wrong. I’m a lot better off with you than I was back then.”

Blaise turned his head, blinking. “What do you mean? You were so upset when you figured it out. I thought you were crying because you were sad.”

Louise closed her eyes once more, that smile that Blaise hadn’t seen coming back to her lips. “I wasn’t upset because I was pregnant. I was surprised, and kind of frightened. Honestly, I was crying because I thought that once you found out, you’d beat me or hate me. That’s what would have happened before I came here.” She sighed. “I should have known back then that arraneum are different.  In fact, I feel more glad than I have in a long time.” She shifted around again, tugging a pelt over her shoulder. Heaving a long sigh, she sank into her bedding. “I’ve decided that I want to stay the year here with you. And whatever comes out of these eggs, I guess. I can wait one year more to go to where the others are.”  

The arraneum’s jaw had come open by an inch as she spoke. “...Are you sure about that Louise? You really wanted to go. I don’t want to hold you back.”

“I’ve made up my mind. It’s got nothing to do with what you think.” She told him sharply, and then paused. “But, I wouldn’t mind staying here alone with you for a little while longer anyway.” Now her teeth flashed out from behind her lips, grinning in a way that Blaise hadn’t imagined that she could. Maybe she hadn’t before, knowing her. Deep in his gut, something stirred.

Now, he finally understood what it meant.

“Louise...” He turned over again, body facing hers. Rain outside continued to fall, the sun leaking through it and casting yellow light over the two of them. Blaise reached out, placing his hand on the naga’s shoulder. His forelegs twitched, though he knew that Louise didn’t have any for him to lock together with.

The naga blinked confusedly at him, their sleepy eyes locked together. “Something wrong? You’re all red in the face. Don’t tell me you’re sick after being in the rain” She muttered. Louise reached out, running one finger along the top of Blaise’s head. “You’re all wet too.”

“No, I’m fine.” Blaise gulped. “I’m in love with you. That’s. Well, that’s how I feel.” He mumbled, his heart leaping into his throat to take the place of where the words had been.

Louise gawked at him as if he’d sprouted feathers. Blaise’s face and chest were hot, and for a moment he wondered if maybe there really was steam billowing out of his ears. “...In love, with me? Why?” The woman asked, voice cracking.  

“Why?” Blaise questioned. “Well... I dunno, there isn’t really any reason why.” He smiled, running his fingers along her forearm. “But if I had to give reasons why, it’d be because you trusted me enough to let me in your home, and because you didn’t try to take advantage of me or make me do more than my fair share. Even though you’re a girl, even though you’re stronger than me, and even though you know why my face is as twisted as it is, you’ve never made me feel like anything less than your equal. That means a lot to me.”

After Blaise counted off his list, Louise listened with perked ears. The naga closed her eyes and exhaled deeply from her nose. “You know, telling someone that you’re in love with them is a very serious thing.”

“I know.” Blaise replied firmly.

“Do you mean it? You’re really in love with me?” Louise opened her eyes again, green shining in the dim light. “Being in love, as far as I know, means that you want to be with that person for a long time- maybe even the rest of your life.”

Blaise nodded slowly. “I mean it. I’m in love with you Louise, and I want to spend as much time together with you as I can. I want you to have another chance at living life, too. I promise we’ll go to the others next spring.” He stirred up a small groaning noise in his throat. “And I don’t know how being a father works because I’ve never had one, and I’ve never known anyone who has one, but I’ll do my best. I promise.”

Louise chuckled under her breath. “Good. I barely remember having parents at all. I was brought up by drunk men and circus monkeys. You might be better suited as a mother.” She let out a long sigh, eyes falling closed once more as she grew tired. “...And if being in love means feeling like someone meant for me to be here, and wanting to stay together with you like this... Then I’m in love too.”

“Huh!?” Blaise squawked. “Really? You think so? I mean, I’m really not that great, I’m-”

The naga put her hand to his mouth. “You’re tired, if anything.” She stated, adamant through her hollow voice. Pulling her hand back from his mouth, she lay back down. “Go to sleep. I’ll be sleeping too, so you won’t have to worry.”

The arraneum hummed in agreement, settling onto the stone. Before he could work himself into a comfortable position, there was warmth on his back. Louise pulled their torsos close together, locking Blaise’s head close to her chest. The arraneum peeked at her face.

“Are you cold?” He asked. The woman’s tongue darted out of her mouth for a moment, just barely grazing the top of his forehead, and then shot back between her lips.

“Nope. But you looked chilly over there on the floor. Stay over here with me.” She responded. Louise never opened her eyes, her voice apparent that she wasn’t long for the waking world. Now that he had been pulled into the bed and clutched tight against a warm body, Blaise could feel the full weight of fatigue as well. He closed his eyes, silent aside from a gentle exhale. Both of his hands found their way to Louise’s back, the texture of the gnarled skin nearly comforting. The clouds outside in the sky outside of their home had finally spent their rain, and the sun was left to shine on the soaked mountain. It was a good day to sleep in, Blaise thought.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wELL THERE'S THAT  
> Thanks for reading, and remember to comment and leave kudos <3


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awh man, so much for trying to update weekly! I've been a little busy lately, candy season has started again, and I just went on a short trip to Shipshewana, IN and Holmes County OH. But now this is all done, thanks for reading!

“Unghhhhh...” A frustrated groan bounced off of the cavern walls. Louise lay flat on her back, scowling at the ceiling, nose scrunched up like a child. “How long did you say this was going to take again?”

Blaise secured a loose web onto a cloth that he’d been weaving, setting it down to rest on his frontmost knee. He sighed as he turned his head to the flustered naga. “I told you, a little over a month is my best guess. I’m not sure what to expect, those are twice as big as arraneum eggs. You’ll just have to be patient.”

Louise huffed. “I was patient for damn well over a month while I was pregnant, now I don’t have to keep waiting. All I can do is sit around with these dumb things. You know, I haven’t even had a bath in almost two weeks!” She turned over, propped on her elbows. While she adjusted herself, the end of her tail moved as well. Moving to loosen her grip on the clutch of eggs, she flipped one of them over in a fluid motion.

“Well, you made the decision to keep them.” Blaise reminded her. He picked up the cloth once more, knitting more webs into it with his fingers.

Louise gave another frustrated grunt.  “...You’re not wrong.” She grumbled. “I’m bored as hell though. I wish I had a ball or something to throw up against the wall. It’s not even cloudy, I’d watch those if it gave me something to do. Speaking of which, what are you doing with those webs anyway?”

“Ah...” Blaise mused, cutting the current strand of web with his hands, letting it drift to the floor. He brandished the small rectangle with a proud grin between his cheeks. “It’s going to be a blanket, isn’t it looking good?”

Louise blinked. “A blanket? Boy, you’ve got a long way to go if you want that thing to keep you warm. It’s almost summer anyway.”

Blaise shook his head. “No, it’s not for that, it’s baby-size!” He corrected her.

Louise snorted. “Maybe you should be ‘Mom’ after all.” She chuckled under her breath.

“You won’t be joking around when one of your hatchlings is cold.” The arraneum tutted, going back to his work. “They’re fragile, you know. Sometimes arraneum will have half a dozen eggs, and they won’t hatch. And if they don’t hatch, sometimes they’ll all die over winter. Being prepared for the worst might end up saving a life.”

The naga smacked the end of her tail on the ground, the clapping noise echoing off of the walls. “Don’t say things like that, you’re scaring me!”

“It’s the truth, though.” Blaise told her. “Hatchlings die very easily. They can freeze to death, starve, get sick, fall through ice and dr-”

“Stop that!” Louise barked. “I don’t want to have to worry about what goes on while I’m not awake.” Blaise turned back to her, lowering his patch of webs. He saw the woman’s eyes trained onto the nape of his neck, straight to the knotted skin where the other arraneum had left her bite. He placed his hand over the rough flesh, rubbing it.

“You don’t have to worry.” He murmured. “Gosh, I never thought I’d have to tell you to lighten up. I’ll be around to make sure everything’s alright.” He crawled over to where she sat, rubbing the top of her head. He was nearly surprised when Louise pushed up against his palm, welcoming the touch.

“Mhm.” She hummed. Louise nudged his hand again, demanding in a cat-like fashion to have her head stroked. Blaise obliged her gladly, running his palm across her head repeatedly. Her hair had suffered from an almost complete lack of bathing, but the arraneum couldn’t say that it didn’t feel good beneath his fingers. If anything, Louise had grown a little more affectionate recently.

“I really do wonder if I’m cut out for this.” Louise mumbled. “I mean, you know how I grew up. You’ve seen how awful I get sometimes, I don’t want to be like that around a kid. It wouldn’t be fair.”

Blaise sighed gently. “Well, it isn’t the easiest thing in the world. If you think keeping them alive is hard, bringing them up to be a good person is even worse. But my mother did it even when she’d been poked at for being half of a human for her whole life, and my grandmother shut herself away for a long time just to avoid other humans finding out about that she was pregnant with an arraneum. Before that, their mothers went through all kinds of tough things.” He brought his hands down, nudging Louise’s cheek. “You’re made out of tough stuff. You’ve made it this far, and after everything, a couple of kids should be a walk in the park. And you’ve got help!”

Louise’s gloomy eyes fell closed, and a gentle grin spread across her face. “Thanks.”

“It’s the truth.” Blaise chuckled. “Come on, why don’t you move out into the sun. You’re probably feeling down because you’re stuffed up in bed.

Blaise felt Louise’s tongue touch his shoulder for a fraction of a second. Her hand slid upward to rest on the same spot. “You know, you should kiss me.” She murmured against his ear.

“Hah?” Blaise blurted. “Kiss you?”

“Yeah. You haven’t kissed me in forever. You told me that you love me, so you should kiss me.” She explained. “Not that you have to. Is kissing something that arraneum do when they love someone?”

“Sometimes.” The man replied. “But usually we do something like... Well, rubbing our forelegs together.” He tapped her back, then pointed to the lower half of her body. “Move your tail around and wrap it around one of my legs, that’d be close.”

Louise peeked down at her tail, nudging the eggs wrapped up in between it. She pushed them closer to her, mindful to keep them out of the way while she moved around. Once the four shells were safely tucked away, she moved. Blaise flushed as the end of her tail came swirling around his right foreleg, gently holding on to the limb.

“Like that?” The naga asked. She wore what was more or less a shit-eating grin on her face, obviously amused by the arraneum’s bashful expression. Blaise nodded quickly.

“Yeah.” He meeped. Taking a big gulp down his throat, he locked his eyes onto her lips. “Let me try your way.” He said, pushing his face in close. Louise didn’t move an inch, waiting for their lips to touch. The connection was soft, and combined with the feeling of Louise’s scales on the fine hairs of his leg, Blaise was feeling shivers down his spine.

Louise pulled back first, opening her eyes again slowly. Blaise felt words in his gut, but his brain couldn’t make them work. “...Do you ever wish I was an arraneum?” Louise asked instead. Blaise’s eyes went wide, and he blinked.

“Of course not!” He answered immediately. “You’d eat me.”

The naga’s sober expression quickly morphed into a grin, and she laughed. “You have a point. But what if I was a boy arraneum?”

Blaise’s flush only grew deeper. “That’s... Well, probably. But I like you as a naga, and as a girl.” He assured her. “Oh, do you hear that? I think something’s caught in my web.” Blaise stammered. Louise’s ears perked up as the man pulled away, almost tripping over himself. His brain was fizzling inside of his skull, full of love and embarrassment and other things that he couldn’t process.

“I don’t hear it, are you sure?” Louise told him.

“Oh I’m sure, I’ll be right back, just a minute.” Blaise called, skittering out of the cave. He nearly leapt into the sanctuary of his webs. Crawling up to the very top of the trees, he sat with his heart pounding in his chest. He held his face in his hands, his cheeks hot on his palms. Love like this wasn’t so easy for him to handle in large amounts. Maybe because he was new to the feelings, maybe because it was Louise, maybe because the whole likelihood of any of this happening was absurd. But probably because he was the luckiest arraneum in the entire world, or so he thought of himself.

With a sigh, Blaise looked out onto the mountains. The trees were full and green, and he could feel a sense of life radiating off of the forest. The wind blew, and he watched the canopy sway along the waves of the breeze.

However, something else was carried along with it.

Blaise narrowed his eyes as the foreign thing rose out of the trees. It was dark and wispy, like contaminated steam billowing out of the trees. It was far off, at least a six hour long walk, but there was no mistaking the form once Blaise could focus on it. A long, billowing cloud of smoke came rolling out of the trees, infecting the clouds with the ash that it carried. His heartbeat picked up again.

“...What’s a human doing this far up the mountain...?” Blaise thought out loud.

“Hey, did you catch anything?” Blaise was interrupted by Louise calling out from below.

“Ah, no I didn’t, it must have been something else...!” The man answered. His eyes were trained onto the wisps of smoke in the distance, watching where it emerged. He tore his eyes away, descending the tree and returning to the cave. Louise had moved herself and her clutch out into the sunlight to rest.

“Better luck next time then.” The naga mused. Blaise stretched his arm out and grabbed her shoulder. Louise gawked at him in return.

The arraneum tried to hide his worried thoughts from his face. “Everything’s going to be alright.” He told her firmly.

Louise blinked cautiously. “You’re acting funny.” She told him, examining the man up and down. “Just nervous I guess, I get it.” The naga kissed his cheek, but the uneasy feeling in Blaise’s gut had settled in like a parasite. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a bunch for reading! Updates will hopefully come soon!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> farts loudly

“Blaise, shut the fuck up.”

Such was the first thing that graced Blaise’s ears that morning. He was awoken from the darkness of sleep by a tired grunt, quickly followed by a jab from Louise’s tail. The man groaned in reply, stretching out two of his middle legs.

“I didn’t say anythin’...” He grumbled, still half asleep. However, his ear perked to the faint sound of chirping. Shuffling back into a semi-comfortable position, he dismissed the noise for something in the trees. “Sounds like a bird got caught in one of the webs. Go back to sleep.” He told her. He tried to find sleep again, guarding his eyes from the early morning sun with his arm.

Blaise could hear Louise shift in the nest beside him. A sharp gasp followed, and before he could think, he was being shaken by the shoulder. “Blaise, seriously, wake up!” Louise cried in a tone that could have come off as frantic. As the arraneum opened his eyes to catch her expression, he realized that it was. Shooting up, he spun his head around in all different directions about the cave. The persistent, muffled chirping could still be heard bouncing off of the walls. His eyes finally landed on the source of the noise, caught between Louise’s tail.

Where they’d been tucked away in the grasp of her body, the clutch of eggs began to move violently back and forth. The surface of the shells could be seen bulging as the creatures inside kicked and punched at their containers. Whatever they were, Blaise would be seeing soon. He gawked with his jaw hanging limp, tired brain struggling to catch up. He was shaken again. Looking to Louise, her eyes were frightened and her hair was frazzled.

“What do I do?” She asked, voice filled with haste.

Blaise blinked at her slowly. “What do you do...?” He mumbled. “You don’t have to do anything, just let them hatch.”

“Shouldn’t I try to get them out myself? Or should I move them?” Louise shot questions at him, looking down as the movement grew increasingly violent. Blaise shook his head, yawning into his palm.

“Nope. Just let them hatch.” He told her, eyes wandering back down. By now, one of them had a hole punched through its surface, a tiny hand poking out into the air. Blaise could feel the tense, static aura around Louise as she watched the shells crack and struggle. Trying to soothe her, Blaise put his arm around the small of her back.

Louise covered her eyes as the hand started breaking apart its tiny prison. “I can’t look...!” She cried out. “They’re going to be snakes with eight legs, or spiders with scales, I don’t want to see something like that!” She exclaimed.

Blaise couldn’t blame her for the worry. He was just as concerned for what the contents of the eggs would actually come out to be as well. Fatigue combined with the overall stress of a mother would have been too much for him to handle. He opened his mouth to try and talk some sense into the erratic naga, but a shriek tore through the air to interrupt him.

His head shot towards the shaking eggs on the ground. In the remains of its shell, a tiny, screaming arraneum lay covered in goo and vessels. Auburn hair, tanned skin, and a light blue lower body made up the hatchling, shrieking to expand its new lungs. Blaise’s eyes went wide, and he thought his heart might burst out of his chest. Turning back to Louise, shrunk into herself and eyes covered, he spoke.

“H...Hey, look. Open your eyes, Louise.” He stammered. He found his voice failing him, his body and mind overtaken by the weight of the tiny creature weeping in the nest.

The woman’s shaking hands came away from her face, eyes still closed. They opened slowly, focused on the source of the loud cries between the coils of her tail. She didn’t blink, staring at the newborn with quivering fingers.

“...It’s an arraneum...” She said breathlessly. “It’s so tiny, I don’t... What do I do now?” Louise asked, lost and confused at the sight of her newborn. Blaise nudged her softly.

“Pick it up, it wants you.” He whispered. Now he watched Louise moved as if pulled along by strings, wrapping her hands around the child as if the slightest touch might cause it to shatter. Meanwhile, two of the other eggs had begun to develop holes and cracks of their owns. But their mother held the single hatched child up to her chest, staring wide-eyed.

“I don’t know what to say...” Louise nearly coughed the words, dozens of emotions coursing through her chest. “I don’t get it, this is mine, I don’t...” She muttered. “It’s a person, and I made it! It’s so tiny, I don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl, I don’t know what to do!” Louise cried out, still frantic.

“Do you want me to hold it?” Blaise asked, tone quiet.

Louise plucked the child from her chest, handing it to the man. “Please.” She sniffled. Blaise took the distressed hatchling, pressing it over his chest just as he’d seen Louise do. The tiny thing was sticky, warm, and every movement that it made seemed to radiate heat onto his flesh. His vision was blurry, and his heart thumped fast. “It’s fine...” He said in what came out as half of a laugh, and half of a sob. “That’s what mothers do, they make new lives. It’s an amazing thing.”

Blaise had no time to get a reply from Louise. When he looked back to her, she was wide eyed again, but this time with a much different expression. Another egg had burst, though now the contents revealed themselves to be much different. A little green tail was attached to the chubby body, topped off with another mop of dark hair. Louise picked this one up immediately, holding it high in the air rather than pulling it to her breast. She stared up at the gasping hatchling with shock like Blaise hadn’t seen before.

“This one’s a naga.” She stated breathlessly. “It’s been... I haven’t seen another naga in more than twenty years. I never thought that I’d see one of them again.” Now her eyes were welling up with tears, face flushed and ears quivering at the tip.

Blaise blinked, still careful with the wriggling arraneum in his hands. “Are you crying because you’re happy?” He asked gingerly.

Louise finally pulled the wiggling, squeaking body down to her chest, nodding. “Yeah.” She answered him. Her voice was small and held down by emotion as she clutched the hatchling to her body. No sooner had she done so that a third finally broke free. Another naga, complete with green scales and fair flesh.

“Oh.” Louise said in a deadpan, despite the whirlpool of emotions and hormones between her ears.

“What? Is something wrong with it?” Blaise asked, leaning over to pull the youngest free of the remaining shell.

“No, it’s just.” Louise peered at the child. “It’s got your stupid purple hair.” She followed. Blaise blinked, and broke into a loud round of laughter. It was cut off by a shriek against his chest, however, and he set about looking after the arraneum in his arms. He looked at its face, eyes still heavy and shut, but its mouth wide open.

He gasped, causing Louise to swivel her head around immediately. “Purple hair is one thing, look at this!” He pointed to the arraneum’s mouth. “It’s got a snake tongue!” He informed the woman, who relaxed. By now she’d scooped up both of the naga. She picked up a stray pelt, rubbing it against the pair in an attempt to dry them off.

Louise sighed through her nose. “Well, better than what I imagined coming out of those things.” She looked down between the folds of her tail, where one shell remained unmoving. “...What about that one?” She questioned, poking it with the end of her body.

“Could be a late one.” Blaise chimed in. He didn’t want to note that it could be ‘dead’, and essentially rotting out from the inside. It was possible, but why ruin the otherwise happy occasion, he thought.

“Mmh, right.” Louise mused. She looked down at the pair in her arms, trying to calm them as Blaise had the little arraneum. She hummed in thought. “...I still don’t know if these two are boys or girls, I’ve barely thought of names at all.”

“This one’s a boy.” Blaise said. He indicated the ball of fuzz and skin in his hands.

Louise looked back over to him, ears perking up high. “It is? Are you sure?”

“Mhm. I can tell from the way his abdomen looks.” The arraneum responded. “You’re his mother though, you’ve got naming rights.”

Louise nodded, looking down. “...Shit, this is tough. I don’t exactly have anything other than human names.” The woman trailed off, finally settling down again after the sudden explosion of activity. “But, if I had to choose one, then I think I like Clovis the most.”

“Clovis?” Blaise questioned. “Sounds nice enough. What about those two though, do you have any idea how to know?”

The woman nodded her head. “Yeah. I’ll have to look around and find a long rock- there’s nothing that you can do but stick something in there and feel around.” Then, Louise’s ears fell down, and her lips contorted into an embarrassed curl. “So uh... About feeding them, do I do that with my tits, or are they just gonna eat meat?”

Blaise blinked, staring back at the flushed woman. “They don’t have any teeth, you’ll have to nurse them.”

“Right.” Louise meeped. “So, I just... I uh...” She stammered, completely lost. She held one of the hatchlings, tiny enough to be wrapped in her hand. Blaise watched her Guide the newborn’s mouth to her breast, flinching as it closed its mouth around the bud. “Alright, that’s one.” She mumbled. The other latched on just as easy, and finally, she could take a breath and lean back against the wall. “Thank god... What about Clovis, then?” She asked.

Blaise stroked the arraneum’s back with his thumb. “ I think he’s alright.” He settled down in the nest as well, taking a long breath of relief. He let his eyes rest for a moment, repeatedly stroking the hatchling pressed to his chest.

“How do you feel?” He asked.

“What do you mean?” Louise replied, tongue darting out and in again.

“I mean... We didn’t know any of this was going to happen.” Blaise told her. “Things like falling in love and having children are things that I’ve always wanted, but I want to know that you’re happy too.”

Louise scoffed at him. “Blaise, for most of my life I never had the luxury of thinking about anything more than if I was going to be fed or beaten... Things like love and children were things that I never could have dreamed of.” She smiled. “It’s alright now, I’m happy so long as I’m free to live the way that I want.” Relaxing into the wall, she held the two newborns to her chest.

Blaise mimicked her grin, finally placing his son into the nest. He yawned, and Louise clucked her tongue beside him.

“Didn’t get much sleep, did you now? You’ve been spending too much time up in that tree watching the mountains.” She chided him quietly. “Sleep for another hour or two, I’ll be up.”

For once, the arraneum didn’t argue. He settled down, out like a light.

               

    ...

 

Blaise woke again, roused by the squeaks of one of the hatchlings. His head bobbed up to check on the newborns. All three were moving, to his satisfaction. He made a sarcasting cheeping noise back at them, earning no response. As the arraneum sat up again, he found himself alone in the nest with the three, all bundled together on the other side. Their mother was nowhere to be found. Confused, the arraneum pushed his torso up. Before he could stand, the missing woman’s shape appeared at the mouth of the cave, slithering back in. However, her shoulders appeared slumped, and her tail carried her slowly.

“You look tired.” He said before asking where she’d been off to. “Need a nap?” He questioned further. Louise returned to their bed, flopping down onto it with a thud.

“‘m fine.” She mumbled, stretching her tail out to relax.

Blaise’s eyes ran up and down the length of the scaly appendage, and then to the bundle of sleeping hatchlings beside him. “...Where’s the other egg?”

Louise’s ears fell with her shoulders. For a long moment, she was quiet, words locked in her chest. Blaise waited, all too aware of what she was trying to convey. “I’m sorry. It was bad. It had a rotten smell...” She sighed. “I cracked it open and tossed it into the stream.”

“Oh Louise... Are you okay?” Blaise asked, his voice faltering.

The naga blinked at him. “Am I okay? Shouldn’t you be worried about the baby?” She questioned, looking on the edge of tears. Or, perhaps, her eyes were still red from the flurries of tears they’d seen all day. Blaise sat up, setting one foreleg on the belly of her tail.

“No, eggs go bad all the time. I’m not really sad, but you’re the one who grew it and sat on it for months.” He explained. “It must feel awful.”

Louise became silent once more. She looked down at her hands, hair coming close to covering up her eyes. Finally, she took a deep breath, and looked up again. “It is awful. But it’s going to be okay. I mean, this is what the gods would have wanted, isn’t it?”

“Ah-” Blaise choked out. It hadn’t been more than a few times that she’d mentioned anything spiritual. But, in a moment of understanding, he recognized her need for comfort in anything that could be grasped. He put a hand on her arm, kissed her cheek, and hummed. “Yeah, you’re right. We’re blessed with three healthy ones, let’s be thankful.” He murmured. In less than a second he was tangled up in Louise’s body.

He rubbed his nose into her neck, whispering. “Thank you for all of this. All my dreams have come true, you know.”

“Hmph... Thanks for helping me live mine.” Louise returned, running fingers over the knobs of his spine.

Blaise wondered if he’d died, and if this was his paradise. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Now I'm moving to try and update on saturdays or sundays, hopefully once a week.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaah, I've actually got a chapter sort of on time!! My new goal is to update on saturdays, but I spent waaay too much time working on the illustration for this one. And, this in itself is a bigger chapter than usual!

“Hey, are you planning on building a nest up there or what?”

Blaise’s head shot up. From where he’d been perched up in the topmost branches of the trees, he looked down, eyes falling on the naga below. She peered up at him, arms crossed, tail-end flicking back and forth impatiently.

“You know you’ve been up there for a half hour, right?” Louise called up to him again. “I don’t know what you keep staring at out there, but I’m about damn ready to yank myself up there and find out.”

Blaise’s head sank into his shoulders in a sheepish way. “Sorry. I’ll be down in a minute.” He told her from up in the treetop. “When I come down, we’ll go look for a rock to use on the hatchlings again. Okay?”

“Fine.” She agreed. “But if you don’t hurry your ass up, or you’ll have me up there with you.” The woman barked, turning tail back into the cave. Blaise scratched the back of his head as her body disappeared into the cavern. He could hear a soft cry from within the cave from one of the children. Three days old now, they were still in need of his and Louise’s constant attention. He couldn’t speak for the two naga, but Clovis would be trying to walk just as summer came around.

Blaise moved two legs to descend the tree, but he was driven to look back over the canopy of the forest once again. The sun cast light all over the mountains, the green forests shimmering in its glow. The smoky morning fog had just lifted, but in its wake, a dark cloud came billowing out of the trees. The arraneum’s suspicions had been confirmed by the continued flow of smoke out of the same area. Now, the trail of dark smoke had started to grow closer and farther, as if the owner of it had been walking in circles.

What if the human was lost?, he wondered. They had no place in the forest- becoming disoriented couldn’t be difficult for one of them. Now they had drawn close enough to be a four hour walk away, settled along the stream that Blaise had followed from the arraneum colony to the area where he’d found Louise. Either way, it was too close for comfort.

Blaise forced the thought out of his mind. Shifting his other six legs, he used the tiny claws of his feet to carry himself down the trunk of the tree, through his webs, and back down onto the grass outside of the cave. The ground was warm beneath his knees, the stone of the cave just right for his three children. He sauntered inside, greeted by the sound of Louise’s yawning. Small squeaks followed from the three hatchlings, two in the nest and one in the crook of Louise’s arm.

“You know, your son’s an affectionate little shit.” She commented, pulling the tiny arraneum closer to her face. Clovis’ eight legs wiggled at random, tapping against Louise’s chest. She nuzzled her nose into the fluff on top of the boy’s head, earning a small cry. “Loud, too.” She chuckled. Blaise let a small laugh escape him as well.

“I wish I could say the same about those two, but I don’t know if they’re sons, daughters, or both.” He told her. “Let’s go see if we can find something to figure that out with.” He continued. Blaise leaned over, kneeling his forelegs to lift one of the two naga.

The violet-haired hatchling protested weakly, fighting against his grasp. Blaise stroked it on the back. Then, he pulled a web pouch from where it had been hung by a stone jutting out of the wall. He eased the hatchling into it, and wrapped the woven-in straps around his shoulders. With the infant held securely on his back inside of the pouch, he picked up the other. This one didn’t fight against it, calmly allowing Blaise to hold it on his chest. Across from him, Louise had strapped the arraneum around her back.

“Right.” She mused. “Remember, we need something long and thin, or it won’t work.” She told Blaise, slithering away no sooner than the words had left her mouth. The man followed after her, careful not to put too much bounce in his step. Keeping a steady gait was hard with eight legs to keep track of. He came to walk beside Louise, whose eyes flickered towards him only for a second.

“You know,” She started. “I remember when I was a kid, and my parents had to do this. They had to figure out if my little brother was a boy or a girl by sticking something inside of his tail. My sister and I would go swimming while we were supposed to be looking for rocks. I can still see my father knocking my sister on the back of the head with his tail.” She laughed, and Blaise felt himself smiling as well.

“That sounds like a good memory.” He replied. “I don’t have any siblings- my mom had one clutch. It was pretty cold that spring, so I was the only one that hatched. I don’t know anything about my father, mother ate him up.”

“Even with all of that human blood in her?” Louise questioned.

“Yeah. It’s just our way, I suppose. Round ears or not.” Blaise replied. He brought his hand to the child on his back, patting its head to try and calm its constant wriggling. It settled for a moment, and he brought his arm down. “I’m glad that I can be here to make these memories with you, Louise.”

The naga laughed at him. “You’re such a sap, you know that?” She snickered, nose high. “But... Really, I’m glad to be doing this again.”

Blaise grinned, stepping out of the trees and onto the moist bank of the stream. “I’ll go first today.” He offered, pulling the hatchling and its web pouch from his chest. He carried the child over to a spot in the shade, tamping it with his foot for Louise to come and sit. The naga slithered to the spot, removing the arraneum from her back.

“Are you sure? You’ll end up getting a sunburn.” She warned, even as she settled into the grass. Blaise nodded his head, pulling the frustrated hatchling on her back. Louise raised her hands up to take it. “Come here you little noodle!” She said, pulling in the violet-topped child to her chest. Blaise laughed, turning back towards the water. He poked it with his foot, feeling for the temperature. It was cool, but relieving in comparison to the early summer air. He stepped in, examining the bottom through the water.

He knelt, digging through the stones that had become caked in the mud, moving when the water would grow too murky for him to prod through. Several times he pulled out a stone, giving it to Louise for inspection. Too sharp, too thick, too rough. It grew exhausting to be denied each time, but he understood that it was too much to risk piercing the delicate insides of the two naga’s bellies.

Pulling one more promising stone from the water, Blaise held it up into the sun. “What about this one?” He asked, meeting Louise half-way at the bank. The woman examined it between her fingers, rolling it between them. The rock crumbled at the edges, leaving a rough surface. The woman sighed in frustration. “Shit, this won’t work either.” He huffed. “As much as I hate to say it, this wouldn’t be so difficult if there was a human around. They’ve got all kinds of little things that would work. Thermometers, pens and pencils, you might even be able to stick the wide end of a sewing needle in there.” She tossed the rock into the water, where it would sink back to the bottom of the stream. “Oh well. Might as well keep looking.”

“Right.” Blaise nodded his head. Humans had all kinds of things that he’d never even heard of, he thought as he went back to fishing about in the water. Louise spoke of things like electricity, glass, and even animals that he’d never heard of before.

He thought of the smoke behind the trees, and stood up.

“I just thought of something.” He stated. Louise perked her head up from where she’d been nuzzling the violet-haired naga, latched onto her breast. “I followed part of a stream when I came here from the arraneum colony. I found a big mess of things I hadn’t seen before, now that I think about it, they must have been human things left there from a long time ago. If I go now, I can go look to see if it’s still there, and if there’s anything we could use.” Blaise felt sweat run down his back as he lied.

“Really? Must have been an abandoned campsite or something. They must have been eaten by a bear. Either that or they fell off of a cliff. Not the brightest things out there.” She snorted. “But alright. Help me carry these three back and you can go. How far is it?” Louise stood carefully, holding the still nursing child tight. She tossed a pouch to Blaise, who stumbled over to catch it.

“About three hours there and three hours back I’d say.” He informed her, forming a map in his head of where the smoke had been coming from that morning. He strapped the pouch that he’d been given around his chest, lifting Clovis from the ground. He picked the child up carefully, placing him in the bag before he could clamp down his arm with all of his eight little legs. Clovis went into the bag without protest, close to nodding off even. Blaise gave the auburn-headed naga the same treatment, slinging the hatchling around his back. Louise hung the last pouch on her shoulder, choosing to carry the other hatchling as it fed.

“That’s kind of far, I’ll go with you.” Louise stated.

Blaise’s skin jumped. “No, you can’t. I don’t mean to make you feel bad, but someone has to stay home and watch the hatchlings. You’re the only one who can feed them- and you don’t know where the pond at the end of the stream is.”

Louise hummed. “That doesn’t make me feel bad, you’re right. Just promise you’ll be back before dark? If you need to go again tomorrow, it can wait.”

“Promise. I’ll be home as soon as possible.” Blaise replied determinedly, more weight

behind his words than Louise could know. He set foot back into the trees, the woman trailing right after. Blaise noted as he stepped how they’d beaten down a path from the cave to the creek, most of the stray branches knocked off to the side. However, as he brushed one more to the side, he felt acid churning in his stomach. Louise hummed and poked at the naga on his back, none the wiser.

He wanted nothing more than to tell her about what he’d been watching in the trees, what was really camped out in those woods. It wouldn’t take much to look her in the eye and say ‘I think there’s a human in the forest, I’m off to go make it leave!’. But peeking over his shoulder, he could see the woman’s grin as she poked fun at their hatchling, the words became locked in his throat. He didn’t want to put her through the terror. To Louise, he thought, the forest must have been a safe haven. And, by the gods, it was meant to be safe from humans.

Stepping into the cave’s clearing, Blaise met Louise at the mouth of the cavern. “You can just set those two in the grass, they’ll probably want fed soon too.” The naga instructed. The one that she’d been carrying looked completely sated, wiggling its tail back and forth in a way that Blaise could only assume meant ‘content’. Gingerly, he removed the two hatchlings from his chest and back. Where Louise sat down in the shade, he placed the two beside her. The woman nudged them and pulled the pair in against the scales of her belly with a quiet chirping sound.

“Alright, I should leave as soon as possible if I want to make it back before sunset.” Blaise said, patting Clovis on the head with his foot while he spoke. He leaned over, face hanging over Louise’s, wide green eyes staring back up at him.

“I love you.” He murmured, leaning even further to kiss his lover on the cheek. When he rose, he was pulled back down for a return kiss on the lips. Louise released him, hands resting on the back of his neck.

“I love you too.” She told him, a sweetness in her voice that Blaise hadn’t expected. He pulled up again, and fingers slid away from his neck. Pulling his cheeks back, the arraneum worked to tug a grin over his lips.

“Right. I’ll be back, soon as I can!” He proclaimed. Blaise straightened his back, turned on four feet, and made his way opposite of the stream. Just as his blue abdomen disappeared behind the bushes, he heard Louise call out.

“Don’t get eaten out there, alright? And be careful with any human thing you find, you have no idea what they can do!” She shouted to him.

“I will!” Blaise projected back. After, he heard no more come from Louise’s direction. He slowed for a second, eight legs crawling slowly atop the forest bed. He turned back for a moment, but again he turned his head forward, picking up his pace and advancing towards the presence of man.

 

...

 

An hour had passed when Blaise found himself at the pond where the stream ended, dispersing into narrow trickles that travelled toward the base of the mountain. He could recall himself standing in the same spot years ago, something inside of his heart telling him that this was the place to settle down. He approached the bank, curiously poking the surface of the water with his foreleg. It was clear enough to show his reflection, distorted by the ripples he’d made.

There was the crack of a twig nearby, and Blaise lifted his head back up. He blinked, double checking his vision. Appearing just a few feet down the way, muzzle at the surface of the water, Blaise saw a deer. It drank in silence, as if he weren’t even there. If he’d wanted to, Blaise could have killed it in no time at all and carried it back to Louise and his hatchlings. But there were more important things to be done, so for once, he took a moment just to watch it.

The deer raised its head from the water, and in the spots of sun that filtered through the leaves, Blaise saw antlers starting to form. He and the buck caught eyes, a chill running through the arraneum’s spine. He was sent back to the dream of the talking deer, its smooth voice nestled in the back of his head. But, this deer didn’t open its mouth and speak. Its ears perked up, its tail raised, and it ran back into the bushes from where it had come. Blaise knelt, drank, and moved forward.

 

...

 

Three hours into his journey, Blaise had begun to feel the weight of his travels in his legs. He considered stopping for a break, but just as his knees bent to sit, the lingering scent of smoke flitted across his lips. Very few times had he been given even a whiff of the substance, normally in the presence of a tree that had been struck by lightning. But, in his nose it was unmistakable. His tired body was pulled by new strength- legs moving tandem to pull his body along at a prowl.

As he moved, the scent of smoke grew stronger. The noxious scent tore into his nose and shot into his lungs, an unpleasant tingle washing through them. Blaise carried himself low to the ground, eyes dilated and hands working like an extra pair of legs to carry him across the forest floor. Ahead lay a row of bushes, light filtering through their branches. From the other side he heard something like rocks clanking together, coupled with the shuffle of a body.

The arraneum positioned himself at the other side of the bushes, chest grazing the ground. Slowly, he parted some of the leaves from the bush. For a moment he cursed his vibrant coloration, eyes focused on the narrow view the bush allowed. As he’d feared, the clear outline of a human sat inside of a small clearing.

The human was covered in what he remembered being called ‘clothing’. Whatever it was, it was caked with dirt, torn in places, and it seemed to hang from the creature’s thin form. The colors had faded, but Blaise could see that at one time, they may have been red and blue. He couldn’t tell what the things on its feet were made of- it almost looked like an old deer hide. From the beard it sported, Blaise assumed the human to be a man.

From the fire that had been there before came nothing but smoke, extinguished for now. Blaise squinted to try and get a closer look at what the two-legged man was fiddling with. A shiny stone stick, and a sort of hollowed out stone. Whatever they were- the man was eating out of them. Breathing low, Blaise began to straighten his back. There wasn’t time to wonder about human things and what they were. All he knew was that if he were going to overtake this thing and force it from the forest without killing it, he had no choice but to overtake it. He spun slowly, drawing a rope into his hands.

Blaise stood, and their eyes met.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hERE WE GO BLAISE VS FUCKBOY SHOWDOWN  
> I'll have you know that the next few chapters are gonna be kind of intense before we get into some good domestic stuff :3c part 1 is about 2/3 of the way over now. There will be a Summer, Winter, and Early spring story arc- and then the second part of the story will begin.   
> If you've liked the story so far, leave a comment or kudo, they keep my fingers moving~!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IT'S ON TIME

The bushes rustled as Blaise’s back legs grazed them. With his hind legs, he sent his entire body surging up and overtop of the shrubs. He tackled the human like it were prey, overtaking the intruder’s body. Underneath his body, the two-legged creature howled and flailed about. Blaise grappled with the man, trying to pin him and force the web rope around his neck. The human struggled, throwing Blaise off by kicking the underside of his abdomen with the hard shell on his feet. Recoiling, the arraneum held himself low to the ground, webs stick drawn tight between his hands. His eyes locked onto the human that stood above him, casting a shadow over his body. The man wheezed with fright, arms held up as his hips.  

The man’s hand darted to his side, and Blaise jumped at him again. This time he used the human’s shape to his advantage, knocking him over with his forelegs. Taken by surprise, the person fell to the ground, some shiny thing that he’d drawn flying in the opposite direction. Blaise swiftly pinned the man’s feet down to the ground, avoiding another jab to his belly Forcefully,  wrapped the human’s neck in his web, holding him as if by a leash and collar. If Blaise were out to kill, the man’s neck would have already been shattered. His other arm pulled web from his moving legs, spreading the sticky rope across the human’s form. Below the man continued to struggle as it was bound tight, Blaise weaving his limbs together. The human cried out for him to stop, grunting and panting as he struggled.

Cries of the human falling on deaf ears, Blaise forcefully yanked him off of the ground. The two-legged creature yelped as it was pulled up and thrown against the nearest tree trunk. Blaise secured the man to the tree with even more of his web, letting the human struggle uselessly against the binds.

Blaise took a step back. His realized that his heart was pounding against the backs of his ears, the force of his blood causing his fingers to tremble. The two-legged man eventually gave in to the ropes of web, falling limp with exhaustion. The arraneum watched him heave air into his lungs, held upright by the strings that bound him. The memory of feeling still fresh on his fingers, Blaise’s hands recalled the edge of the human’s bones through his arms as he’d grabbed them. Staring closer, there were dark bags under the man’s eyes, coupled with pale and sickly flesh. His clothes were in tatters, and dust and grit weighed down the man’s scraggly beard as he raised his head to meet Blaise’s eyes.

The arraneum straightened his back and raised his head before the human. “What are you doing in this forest?” He stamped his foot on the ground, speaking with more authority than he held. With his chest puffed out, Blaise waited for the human’s response.

The human’s cracked lips shivered open to answer. Eyes still connected, Blaise could see terror hidden in the black pits of his pupils. “I came out here hunting for deer, and I wound up lost out here. I-I’ve been walking ‘round in circles for weeks now! Please don’t kill me, I beg ya, I’ve got a wife and a little girl somewhere!” The human had begun to shiver, skin and bones clattering against tree bark.

The stiff muscle in Blaise’s shoulders relaxed. “I’m not going to kill you. I only kill things that I intend on eating.” He informed the quivering human. “Speaking of which... How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”

Sputtering, the ragged man searched his surely panicked brain for an answer. “It’s been about three days now!” He told the arraneum, voice raspy with panic. “I mean, I’ve been eatin’ bugs and whatever crawls my way, but nothin’ that’s going to keep me alive for too long out here.” He continued to explain. Meanwhile, Blaise rubbed his chin between his fingers, musing over the human’s story. The foreigner certainly didn’t look healthy by arraneum standards, he had little doubt that it had been a while since this one had seen a proper meal.

“Right.” Blaise stated. Careful not to turn his back to the man, he crawled backwards into his camp. The stench of smoke remained heavy in the air, the source being a ring of stones filled with ash and splinters of burnt wood. Blaise examined it for a moment, leaving it to study the rest of the human’s camp. He found a bag, intricately woven out of a material that he couldn’t identify. There were bits of metal and some other hard, light substance woven in with it. Trying to open the pack, Blaise fiddled with the different hanging parts. He found a thin piece of metal and pulled. With a ‘zip’ sound, it revealed the contents of the bag.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing? That’s my backpack!” The human cried from his post. “You dirty thief!”

Blaise blinked, looking back at the scraggly human. “I haven’t taken anything, I’m just looking.” He retorted. Turning his attention back to the bag, dug through its content. Inside there were many things shoved inside, but none of them were anything that he’d ever seen before. In fact, he couldn’t name what most of the things inside were even made of. He recognized metal, and there were a lot of metal things inside for sure. There were several more of the metal sticks with prongs, some with grooves at the end, and others cut to be sharp. Blaise pulled out an empty container with a thin metal lid. However, the canister was made of a material he’d never come across- hard like rock, but clear as water.

“What is this made of?” Blaise asked the human, holding it up. The man squinted back at the item- almost as if Blaise were stupid.

“It’s glass. You ain’t never seen nothing made of glass before?” The human told him, flinging back another question. Blaise could see that the muscles in his shoulders had started to loosen, the shivering subsided as well.

Replacing the glass object to where he’d found it, Blaise shook his head. “No. Arraneum don’t have anything like that.” He ruffled through some more, but nothing inside of the pouch called out to him as being suitable to use on the inside of his children. He grabbed the bag with both hands, standing with it drawn to his chest. While he drew close to the tree again, the human visibly flinched.

“Tell me human, what’s your name?” Blaise  inquired.

“Name...?”

“Yeah. Humans have names, don’t they?”

“My name...” The man breathed. “Is Justin.”

Blaise smiled at Justin, dropping his aggressive facade for a second. “Good. Now, Justin, I need you to tell me if you have something that I need.”

“S-Something you need?” Justin stammered out. A bead of sweat dripped off of his brow, and Blaise nodded.

“Yes. I’ve been looking for anything that’s small, smooth, and that won’t cut into something soft.” He described the same kind of thing that Louise had instructed him to find. “...Think of something that would be safe to put under a baby’s tongue.” He stated, trying to give more of an example for the man to think on. The human shifted, as if trying to lift his arm to point. However, as he was still bound to the tree, the movement resulted in an awkward sort of shrug.

“In the front pocket there’s something like that I think. Look there.” Justin replied hurriedly. Blaise took a second look at the bag, finding another metal strip on the other side. He pulled the piece at the end again, opening another section of the container. He peered inside to find several small items. The first thing he pulled out was a tiny box, made of more thin metal and glass. Inside there were pieces of wood, rolled in what looked like brightly colored web. Blaise gasped, amazed by the tiny things.

“What are those inside? Are they webs?” He asked, practically shoving the box in the human’s face.

“That’s just a sewing box, nothin’ to get so excited about. That string is made of cotton. I-It’s a plant we humans grow, but yeah, it’s kinda like spider webs.” Justin replied. Satisfied with the answer, Blaise replaced the box into the bag, digging around even more. Finally, buried beneath several other objects that he couldn’t name, the arraneum found what couldn’t be anything other than perfect. He pulled out a tube-shaped metal object, perfectly smooth against the palm of his hand. Just long and thin enough too, he thought.

“What is this thing called?” Blaise asked again. “Do you think it would work?” He presented the item to the human, pleased with how it reflected the sunlight.

“That’s a pen. What do you need it for though?”

Blaise laughed. ‘Pen’ had been one of things that Louise had listed off! “Really? A pen? That’s perfect!” He exclaimed. “Listen, hu- Justin. I don’t have much time. But if you give me what I want out of your things, I’ll give you something to feed yourself with, and show you the way back to the other humans.”

“Yes, yes, take whatever you want!” The man sputtered. “I don’t care, just tell me how to get home again, please.” He begged, shoulders sagging.

“Alright. First of all, I want this pen.” Blaise showed it to him again. He peered down into the bag again, and pulled out the sewing kit as well. Then, he sat the bag down at the human’s feet. Finally he allowed himself to turn his back to the human, Blaise returned to where he’d seen something fly during their fight. He found a metal object in the grass, and lifting it he found that it was quite heavy. Behind him, the human’s breathing had picked up again. Blaise looked over his shoulder, finding a panicked expression painted across Justin’s face again.

“Be careful with that thing, do you even know what it is?!” The human wheezed. Blaise looked at it, glimmering and heavy in his hand.

“No, I don’t. But when you were standing in front of me earlier, you tried to pull it out of your clothes. I feel like you were going to use it to hurt me.” Blaise told him, stern tone creeping back into his voice.

Blaise saw Justin’s adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “Alright. Take it. But whatever you do, don’t pull that trigger. The curved thing in the crook of it- don’t touch it. And if you do, don’t point the end with the hole at anything alive. Guns aren’t for wild things to be playin’ with.” He pleaded, eyes glued to the object.

“What’s going to happen if I do?”

“Boy, you don’t wanna find out.”

Blaise frowned. Then, he left the three items sitting on the ground together. He walked to the nearest tree and yanked down a branch, twisting the live wood off of the tree trunk.  Using his hands, he plucked the leaves and twigs from the small limb. Then he pulled at both ends, testing its strength. Pleased with the way it bent and resisted him, Blaise sat down in the grass.

Justin’s eyes followed along as the arraneum began to spin, webs flying from Blaise’s spinnerettes and around the branch. He wove string after string of web onto its surface, crafting a net.

“...Why aren’t you eating me?” The human muttered, voice emerging out of the blue. “You’ve gotta eat dontcha? Don’t you have a family to feed?” Justin looked to Blaise, and in place of fear, curiosity shimmered in his eyes.

Blaise smiled again as he worked. “I don’t know about humans, but my kind don’t believe in killing what we don’t intend to eat. Wasting life by killing for the sake of ending that life is a sin. My family lives a fair way away, and I couldn’t possibly drag your body all that way to feed it to them.” He held the net up to examine it, and went back to work. “Secondly, human beings aren’t meant to be this deep in this forest. Especially not with fire. Your world is outside the forest. It’s my responsibility to keep my family safe by keeping your kind away.”

Blaise stood again, happy with what he’d made. It could have been more intricate, but with three hours to get home, he needed to hurry. “Here, you can use this net to catch fish and feed yourself. Just don’t touch the web part until it’s gotten dirty. If you travel upstream, you’ll find a fork. Follow the flow of the other side, and you’ll eventually find more humans.” He put the net down, grabbing the webs that bound the human. He yanked them from the tree, freeing the man’s body from the tree.

Next, he began to pull the man’s clothing off of his body. It took Blaise a moment to figure out how the layer on his torso worked, but he managed to pull it from his form without ripping it apart. Now that the human’s arms were free, he made eye contact with him. “You can take the rest of your clothes off, and the webs shouldn’t be on your skin. Soak them in water for a few hours and let them dry, then the webs shouldn’t be sticky anymore.” The arraneum explained.

The human didn’t say anything, only keeping eye contact as he removed the hard covers of his feet. Blaise broke his gaze by looking down at the man’s feet. They were almost grotesque to him, like some kind of cross between a hand and a frog’s foot. nothing like he’d imagined, especially not with five stubby, finger-like things on the end of each one. For the human’s legs, they looked like those of a hairy bird. Most surprising to him of all, though covered by a small off-white piece of clothing, were the human’s external genitals. The thought of his prick hanging out all the time made gave Blaise goosebumps.

Now that the human had bared himself and freed his limbs, he and Blaise stood directly across from one another. Their eyes met again, silent tension falling over the pair. Heart drumming once again, Blaise held up the net.

“I didn’t... Tell you the last thing. About why I don’t want to eat you.” He murmured. “You said you’ve got a wife and a child back in the human world. I don’t know what the first thing is, but it wouldn’t be right of me to take a parent away from its child like that.” Blaise held his arm out, offering the net to the human.

Justin hesitated, but slowly, he took the net. “Thank you.” He breathed. “I meant to ask, what’s yer name?”

“It’s Blaise.” The arraneum replied. He backed up, standing overtop of the objects he’d collected from the man. “Go on now, I’m sure your family misses you.” He pointed in the other direction, against the flow of the creek he’d followed.

The human shuffled at first, slowly backing up. He pulled up his bag, closed it again, and slung it around his back. Just as it began to recede into the trees, Blaise cupped his hands over his mouth.

“And Justin, one more thing!” He called.

“Yeah?”

“If I find you in my forest again, don’t think I won’t rip off your head and pull your heart out through your throat!”

Blaise smiled as he the human took off at a dead sprint.

  
  
  
  


 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3c and there we go, Blaise's first taste with man kind!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hERE IT IS A WEEK LATE AGAIN WOO

Blaise heaved a breath, allowing his knees to bend and meet the grass. Once again the arraneum found himself at the creek’s end, kneeling by the pond. There wasn’t much time to rest- from this point he would have to hurry home, or risk having to sleep in the open until dawn. More importantly, he’d promised Louise that he’d be home before dark. But, tired after many hours of walking coupled with his scrap with the human, he felt in dire need of rest.

Bending down, he pressed his lips to the surface of the water. He drank to the point where he could feel the water slosh in his gut. Then, he shifted uncomfortably, the underside of his abdomen still bruised from the human’s kick. Water dripping from his mouth, Blaise sat back up. His reflection could be seen in the water, growing in clarity as the ripples subsided.

Gazing down at himself, Blaise examined his reflection. It had been some time since he’d cut his hair- now it grew down over his shoulders, curls nudging the line of his collar bone. The scar that he’d gained from the arraneum woman had a long time to go before it would fade. He brushed his fingers over it, and faintly wondered if she’d ever found her way to the colony, or if she’d perished somewhere after he’d torn her face open. Lastly, his fingers wandered up to his ears. He pinched the tips of them both, pulling them out at the sides to make them appear longer. His waterlogged stomach churned at the sight of the human features. Tan skin and pointed ears, like a normal arraneum... Even Louise had them, he thought.  

Turning away from the sight of himself, Blaise reached into the makeshift bag he’d spun to carry what the human had given him. Leaving the pen and box, he pulled out the gun with ginger fingers. The metal object reflected the waning sun off of its surface, and Blaise couldn’t help but feel that it was heavier than it should have been. The human, Justin, had appeared so afraid when Blaise picked the object up. The look of terror had matched the one he’d had when Blaise had first tackled him to the ground. But, Blaise wondered, what could this little thing do to make someone so afraid?

He thought back to Justin’s frantic words as Blaise had confiscated the gun from him.

“Whatever you do, don’t pull that trigger. The curved thing in the crook of it- don’t touch it. And if you do, don’t point the end with the hole at anything alive. Guns aren’t for wild things to be playin’ with.”

Blaise held the gun, the hollowed end pointed at a tree. He stood up, now with the handle of it in both hands. It was so heavy for its size, and he couldn’t understand why. But something, perhaps the blood that gave him his awful, stupid round ears, tempted him to see what this human thing could do. What this human blood meant, he had to know.  

He pulled the trigger.

Blaise shrieked in fright as an unbelievably loud sound exploded from the gun. He felt as if he’d been thrown into the middle of a thunder cloud and forced to listen to it roar. The object kicked against his palm, firing something fast and hard out of the gun’s hole-end. As the tree he’d aimed for was struck, a sickening crack joined to accompany the sounds of explosion. The arraneum’s body shook, and he dropped the smoking gun into the grass below. His heart raced, and his pupils shrank to nearly nothing.

His jaw hanging loose on its hinges, Blaise gawked at the tree. A sharp hole had been born into it, the heart of whatever had flown out of the gun now buried deep in its trunk. If it could do that to a tree, Blaise could only imagine what it was capable of doing to flesh. He hadn’t realized that he was wheezing or that his nose was beginning to sting from the tears in his eyes.

Blaise took a step back, his foot brushing the gun where it has fallen from his hands. His head whipped towards it, and now its menacing sheen brought memories back to his mind. He remembered standing at the bank of the stream in winter, a sound clear as thunder rippling through the forest. He flashed back to the clearing where Louise had woken up screaming, ‘gun, gun!’. Before, Blaise hadn’t understood what the naga was so upset about. Enough to wake her from hibernation, at that. Now, as his foot rest just inches from the object of her horror, he realized the fear.

Eyes still focused on the gun, Blaise noticed his reflection in the water. He turned his head towards the movement- returning to his own image.

In the water, he could see a human essence of himself glaring back.

Shouting in horror once more, Blaise shot down to lift the gun from the ground. Eyes wrenched shut, he hurled the human object into the pond, forcing it into the depths. Blaise backpedaled away, tripping over his own two feet. He struggled to stand and find balance again, his ears still ringing from the shocking eruption of noise. He turned and ran from the lake, blades of grass flying up behind him.

Deep in the pond, the gun settled to the bottom.

 

...

 

Blaise ran from the pond for a good while before he realized that if he kept going, he’d tire himself out before he could make it home. He stopped under a tree, having to lean against it just to keep himself upright. He sniffled in a string of mucus that had dribbled from his nose, a sob escaping his throat. He’d never been so frightened in his life, nor had he ever been so disgusted by himself, or so hateful of his own blood. Now that he’d meddled with the work of humans, he felt like he’d somehow spat in the face of the god themselves.

Blaise curled over his own empty stomach. He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and took a step forward. He couldn’t afford to keep Louise waiting on him all night. Horrified as he was, there was no choice but to keep moving towards home. It wasn’t far off now he reminded himself, with all the running that he’d done, it couldn’t be more than thirty minutes.

“Ugh...” He mumbled to himself as he walked. “Just think about something else.” He breathed to himself. Anything but the gun, anything to put the fear out of his mind. Blaise scratched his shoulder, and felt the stringy webs tied across his back. If anything, he’d accomplished his goal of taking something from the human that would help him figure out the sexes of his hatchlings. Now they’d finally have proper names, he told himself.

Names, Blaise thought. There was a lot of meaning in a name, a lot of power in a name that couldn’t be obtained with other words. What would be good for a boy, girl, or a pair of each? The man distracted himself by flinging titles back and forth in his head. Naming children after great people was a common thing to do- but he’d only ever known a handful of great arraneum. His mother, an old friend, and a few old women who he’d looked up to as a hatchling. He’d always loved storytellers, and thinking back, he could remember being a yearling and sitting with the other children to listen to tales of the gods. He wanted his own children to have that too. He wanted Louise to have that- a sense of belonging.

By the time he crossed into well-known forest again, Blaise had calmed down considerably. His fur had flattened and his hair had dried from where sweat had dripped down at the tips. Now all he could think of was his family, and how he’d be able to make it to them in one piece.

The sky had turned pink when he finally set foot back into the clearing. “Louise, I’m home!” He called out, his tone laced with a hint of pride. He waited for the naga to come slithering out to welcome him back. However, he did not expect the green assault that launched out of the cave. Blaise was met with the full force of an adult naga throwing herself on top of him, nearly tackling his tired body to the ground. A gasp filled his lungs as he struggled to figure out just how many parts of his body Louise had managed to wrap around.

Mostly, he felt two hands on his cheeks, pressing them together. “Blaise! Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re alright, I’ve been sitting here worried sick for the last hour!” The naga cried, eyes and face painted with relief.

“Ah- I promised I’d be home before dark, and it’s barely even sunset, what’re you so worried about?” Blaise protested, his face squished between Louise’s palms. By now he had determined that Louise’s tail was coiled around his abdomen, and his shaking legs wouldn’t hold the weight much longer.

“What do you mean what am I worried about?” Louise shot. “Didn’t you hear it?!”

“Hear what?”

“The gunshot! Someone shot a gun out here, I heard it!”

“A gu- ah!” Blaise couldn’t finish before he fell to his knees, bringing Louise down with him. Blaise stammered as he tried to untangle their bodies. “I-I’m sorry, my legs are tired after all that walking.”

Dragging her tail off of Blaise’s body and out from between his legs, Louise made an attempt to compose herself. “No, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have jumped on you like that.” She replied immediately. “But didn’t you hear it earlier? Something that sounds... I don’t know, something like thunder?”

Blaise shook his head, more shallow lies dripping off of his tongue. “No, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t hear anything like that.”

“I must have been off in the other direction then.” Louise mused. “But I know that’s what it was, once you hear a gun go off once... Well, you’d understand if you heard one.”

She was right about that much, Blaise thought to himself.

“Anyway... God, I’m so glad that you’re safe. I thought that you went out there and got shot by a hunter.”

Blaise chuckled nervously. “I’m alright, nothing to worry about.” He assured her. “But I found something that looked like it would be perfect. If it isn’t, we can just keep looking around for rocks tomorrow.”

Blaise pulled the tiny pouch from off of his back. Louise waited curiously, the tip of her tail flicking right and left. Reaching inside with one hand, he removed the pen to show it to her. “How’s that?” He asked.

Louise reached out and took the object. She rolled it between her fingers, then held it close to her face for a close-up examination. “... It’s perfect.” She stated, surprise clear in her features. “I don’t know how something like this lasted out there for so long without getting broken or rusty. I guess you’re just lucky that you found it.”

Blaise’s face lit up. “Really? It’ll work?” He bounced questions at her. “Oh I’m so glad, I remembered you saying that a pen would be good, I was so glad when I found it.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised you found a pen of all things.” Louise held the object in her palm, turning towards the cave. Once her back was turned, she came to a stop. All that Blaise could see was her hand, clamping slowly, but hard, over the pen. He blinked confusedly, picking himself up off of the ground.

Then, Louise turned back again- eerily slow in her movement. In the dimming sun, Blaise could hardly make out the feeling reflected in her eyes. The green color seeped into his gaze, and he felt hairs prickle on his legs. “Blaise... How do you know that this is a pen?” She asked, words quiet and deliberate.

The arraneum’s entire body stiffened. He’d been caught in his lie so quickly, and by only one slip of the tongue. Left to stammer like an idiot, Blaise scrambled through the contents of his mind to give an answer. “I-I... I mean, arraneum...” He backed up as Louise drew closer. “Louise, don’t get mad, I’m-”

“I’m not mad.” Louise told him. “I’m... Blaise, why did you lie to me?” She choked, the pen still clenched in her hand. “I should’ve known, that’s what you’ve been up in that tree staring at all this time isn’t it? If it was a human, they must have had a fire going or lights or something.”

Blaise looked down at his two front feet. “... I’m sorry. I’ve seen smoke out there for a few weeks now, and I had to do something. Humans don’t belong here Louise, and I-”

“Do you know what they’re are capable of?” Louise snapped at him. “Do you even know what a gun is? Blaise, you can’t just go fucking around with two-leggers. You’ve never been around them, you wouldn’t know anything about what they can do, you’re just like an-!”

Louise cut herself off, zipping her own lips together.

“I’m like a what?” Blaise asked.

“Nothing, forget it.” Louise shot back.

“Tell me what you were going to say.” Blaise demanded.

Louise huffed. “Because you’re like an animal.” She spat out.

“Louise...” The arraneum started. “Louise, I am an animal. And so are you. I just wanted to protect you and our hatchlings. I- no, both of us finally have a family together, and I a human to come through here and take that away.”

“Then why did you lie to me about what you were doing? I could have gone with you.” Louise hissed at him, arms crossed. She held herself above Blaise’s height, scowling down at him.

“I didn’t want you to follow me. If anything happened, nobody would be there for the hatchlings.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want anything to happen to you. Please forgive me.” With a quiet voice, Blaise apologized.

With a sigh, Louise brought herself down to his height once more. “Don’t apologize. It’s alright.” She told him. “I know that you’re a father and all now but... Please, if anything, tell me if you think there are humans. I had to live with them for twenty years- and I know better about keeping safe around them. That one was probably just a hunter, he would’ve gone home sooner or later.”

“Mm.” Blaise mused. He didn’t interject that the man had been lost- he was too tongue-tied to discuss it.

“Promise me you’ll tell me if you see them again.” Louise pressed at him. “You just don’t know any better, Blaise.”

The arraneum pulled his head out of his shoulders. “I promise. Anyway, the one I ran into left- he wanted to get back home to his family too.”

“I see... Humans usually don’t wander out this far by themselves. Could’ve been lost. The things are too prideful to admit it, think they’re always right.” She cursed below her breath. Then, she opened her hand, dents in her palm from where she’d clutched it so tight. “...C’mon, there’s no use standing around being upset. Let’s go figure out what these kids’ names are going to be, okay?” She tapped Blaise’s arm with the pen, a grin having snuck its way over her lips.

Blaise grinned back, teeth barely visible in the fading light. Carrying his body over exhausted legs, he followed Louise back into the cave. A sense of ease washed over him as his feet met the stone floor. Here, there was no reason to worry about man and guns.

He followed Louise to their bed, where she’d left the three infants in a cluster. The two naga wriggled about, blinking their eyes in the dim light. For now they squirmed around like worms, seeming in full control of the lower half of their bodies- the top half was a challenge. Blaise noted that the arraneum was dead asleep.

Louise sat in the nest beside her children, making herself comfortable. “Clovis cried for an hour while you were gone, now he’s knocked the hell out. He’s just like you.” She chuckled. Bending over, she picked up one of the two naga. The auburn haired one came first, tail flopping back and forth in the air as Louise held it. “Take it and hold it still- I don’t want the little thing flopping around and getting poked.”

“Got it.” Blaise replied with a nod of the head. Louise passed the child onto him, and Blaise held it carefully. He pressed his forelegs together at the knee, setting the child on top of them. He held its torso with one hand, and its tail-end with the other. The child immediately whined and protested. Blaise comforted it by pressing his lips to the child’s head. “It’ll be over soon, just stay still.” He murmured.

Louise held the pen, uncapped end pointed at the narrow slit in the child’s belly. “Alright, keep still you little noodle.” She breathed. One hand joining Blaise’s on the hatchling’s tail, Louise began to press the object inside. The infant wailed as its body was momentarily invaded. All Blaise could do was rub his thumb into the child’s back, and keep its tail still. It only took a few seconds for Louise to finish probing around inside, and the object was withdrawn once again.

Blaise quickly turned his now upset child around and held it up to his chest. “So, could you figure it out?” He asked, voice almost shy in an attempt to disguise his eagerness.

“It’s a boy, definitely.” Louise replied.

Blaise grinned, eyes turning towards the child. “Really? Gosh that’s great, another one! I wonder if they’re all boys?”

“We’ll find out.” Louise told him. “You can put him down for a second, I’ll grab the other one.”

“Wait, what’s his name?” Blaise asked. “Did you think of anything?”

“It’s Martin.” Louise replied almost immediately. “That’s all I thought about today before I heard that shot, and I decided if this one was a boy, he’d be Martin.”

“Martin... That’s great.” The arraneum sighed. He stroked the boy’s back and tail with two fingers, calming him to no more than mumbles. Gingerly, he placed the child back onto the bedding.

He raised the other squirming naga onto his knees, holding it in place by the tail and torso. Again, the hatchling wriggled and fought against him, but he made sure to keep the child firmly in place. Again, it only took a couple of seconds for Louise to press the pen inside of the naga’s belly, then withdraw it. Just as he had before, he turned the now-crying child around and held it against his shoulder.

Placing the pen back onto the cave floor, Louise heaved a sigh of relief. “That one’s a girl.”

“Ah, it is?” Blaise chirped. “Tell me, what are you going to name her?”

“I’m not.” Louise replied. “You can name that one.”

Blaise sputtered, still holding the child up against his body. “Me? I mean, why this one, isn’t naming them only a thing moms can do?”

“Well, I don’t think most arraneum children have the chance to be named by their fathers.” The woman kidded at him. “You don’t have to, I just thought you might like the chance. I think she looks more like you than she does me.” She shook her head and crossed her arms. “I still can’t get over that purple hair, it’s so strange.”

Blaise laughed, muscles of his shoulders more sore than he thought as they moved. He stroked the hair of his daughter while she whimpered in his arms. “Gosh... I don’t know, a name is a really important thing. It’s not like I haven’t thought about it though.” He thought for a moment, back to the conversation that he’d had with himself earlier. “But... I think Rosalie would fit her just fine.”

Louise nodded. “I like that.” She told him, giving her approval. She sighed, shoulders visibly loosening. “I’m glad that’s over with. I’m exhausted. Today’s just been...”

“I’m sorry.” Blaise told her, eyes drawn to the floor.

The naga shifted, moving across to wrap her arm around his back. “Don’t apologize to me now, what’s done is done.”

Louise was quiet for a second, eyes hardly visible in the faded light. Blaise felt her nails down his spine for a fraction of a second, and the warmth of a kiss on his jaw. He shuddered, but overturned the sudden lick of heat at the inside of his stomach. “You should get some rest.” He told her, backing out of her grip to set the tiny naga her bed. She occupied one of three web hammocks, dusted and de-sticked, that hung low off of the cavern wall.

When he turned around, Louise had an odd look in her eyes that he couldn’t place- but for now, he could assume it was drowsiness. Blaise returned to the bedding just as she began to settle down, hoisting up the last of the remaining infants. He returned Martin to his bed as well, before he could finally slink into bed and rest his travel-tired legs.

Blaise nestled himself onto his stomach, the stone beneath his bed cooling the pelts that made it. He felt a hand on his back once again, this time coupled with scales around one leg. He turned his head to see Louise pressing her body against the side of his.

“You alright...?” He breathed, earning a tight squeeze around his leg.

“Don’t let them steal you too. I don’t have anyone else.” Louise spoke, voice so small that Blaise could hardly catch it over the breeze. He shifted, wrapping one arm around her back. He brought their faces closer together, until he could feel the woman’s shallow breath against his cheek.

“I won’t. I promise.” Blaise replied. “Go to sleep, I’ll be here in the morning.”

Louise did as recommended, hiding her eyes behind their lids. Blaise held his half-way open, ears perked to the breathing all around him. Finding sleep was hard, as his mind found the day almost too much to digest. Man, guns, his children, Louise and all of her strange actions... Even after he’d closed his eyes, it gave him a headache. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OTL late as always, but here it be

“Ack- he bit me!”

Blaise turned his head from where he’d been eating out of the carcass of a turkey that he’d snared in webs. Louise held Clovis out with both hands, teeth marks visible in her breast. The man laughed, his son none the wiser to what he’d done as he wriggled his eight legs in the air.  

At last, spring had faded into the full brunt of summer. With it came humidity left by the morning’s billowing fog, and clear blue skies dotted with birds and bugs. The smoke on the forest edge had long since left, and a general sense of peace fell over the forest once more. By now Clovis had learned to crawl across the ground using his arms and legs, and while the two naga were slightly less mobile, their teeth came in just the same.

“Let me see.” Blaise told her, motioning with one hand for her to show him the source of the bite. Louise pulled Clovis to the opposite side of her torso, exposing the teeth marks. He began to pull thick webs from his spinnerets, weaving them between his legs and up to where he could pinch the thread between his fingers. He balled the thread up into a small, sticky wad of webs. He reached out, pressing the self-made bandage to the spot where she bled.

“There, leave that on until it falls off by itself, it should keep it from opening up again.” Blaise said, flicking the excess webs away into the grass.

Louise stared down at her own chest. “You can use it like a band-aid too? You guys sure are creative with this stuff.”

Blaise laughed. “It’s our own gift from the gods I guess. Best to make with it what we can.” He paused for a moment, turning to look at his son. “But I’m glad that his teeth are coming in sharp like that. In fact, he’s probably about ready to start eating meat instead of just drinking milk all the time.” Blaise informed her. With his fingers, he pulled a hunk of meat from the animal’s breast. “Chew on this a little, and try shoving it in his mouth. He might eat, he might not.”

“Chew it up? Isn’t that kind of... I dunno, dirty?” Louise asked, pulling the child up to her chest. The other arm free, she took the meat into her fingers, still lukewarm to the touch.

“He doesn’t know how to chew it up for himself yet.” Blaise replied. He pulled one leg closer to his abdomen, two naga hidden in the shade that it cast. He noted that every so often, they’d make a chirping noise not unlike the one that their mother sometimes allowed to slip out. One such noise came from Martin, holding himself up on his elbows just to look around.

Louise looked at the meat between her fingers for a second, popping the food between her lips. She chewed thoughtfully, a sort of grimace pulled across her face as she spat the half-chewed meat back into her palm. She held it out in front of the child’s face, ears pinned back in distaste. The child’s eyes crossed, and he sniffed, but didn’t move to eat.

Blaise watched as the naga offered the meat to him. “Try putting some on your finger and putting it in his mouth, he doesn’t know what it is yet.” He advised. The naga’s ears perked back up as she listened, and with the same reluctant expression, she smeared some of the chewed-up bits onto her index finger. As she tried to pry open the child’s lips, Clovis protested with tiny grunts, pushing against his mother with his weak legs. However, once Louise’s finger passed through his lips and onto his teeth, he quieted. His eyes went wide, and he sniffed at his mother’s hand again. This time, when she stretched her palm out for him, Clovis opened his jaws and lapped at the food, only just experiencing the difference in flavor for the first time.

“He’s eating it!” Louise exclaimed. “How’d you know to do that?” She asked, eyes filled with curiosity.

Blaise chuckled again. “I’ve been around babies before, you know.”

“I see...” Louise hummed. She kept her palm held open for Clovis to eat from it, licking her skin clean. “I can’t say the same. I wouldn’t have any idea what to do by myself.”

“You’re doing great, don’t put yourself down for not knowing.” Blaise praised her.

Louise retracted her palm once the infant had licked it clean. She placed him back onto a web-woven cloth settled on top of the grass. The cloth kept itchy insects and dirt clear from his vulnerable body, at least while he was unable to wander too far off of it. Clovis remained in one spot, stomach full with his first semi-solid meal.

“Thanks.” Louise said. “But you know, much as I love these guys, I’d also love some time alone every once in a while.” She told him.

“Oh?” Blaise responded. “I can look after these two for a while if you want to go relax for a while, it’s no trouble.” He offered. No wonder she’d be tired, he thought. The physical and mental stress of having infants tired him out as it was, he couldn’t imagine having to make milk and the natural worries of a mother on top of it.

“I was actually talking about some alone time for the both of us. Together.” Louise corrected him. She spoke with a different tone, something hidden under her tongue. Blaise cocked his head to one side.

“Hm... I mean, we could sit in the clearing and talk for a while. It’s been more than a month since we’ve just sat around in the grass at night.” He suggested, finger pressed to his chin. “It might be nice to just watch the stars for a while, I guess the kids aren’t big enough to appreciate that yet.”

“Yeah. Sitting around and talking. Sounds nice.” Louise drawled.

Blaise blinked at the sarcasm rolling out of her mouth. “Was there something else you had in mind?”

“Hm? No, that’s fine.” The woman responded, tucking her hair behind her ears. Blaise frowned for a second, but took her word. He scooped Martin up into his arms as he tried to wiggle out from beneath his legs, smothering him in nuzzles and kisses. Louise flashed a small grin, tail curling around Clovis in a loop.

 

...

 

That night, Blaise sat on the edge of the cave, working by the rising light of the moon. A long web cloth rest in his hands, piled up in folds by his forelegs. Every so often he dragged the webs through the dust, de-sticking the surface. Meanwhile, Louise had curled herself up in the back of the cavern, eyes fixed on the arraneum. With the three hatchlings asleep, she felt best to keep quiet and just watch the man work.

Eventually, as the cloth reached greater lengths, she pulled herself up and slithered to the mouth of the cave to investigate. “What the hell’s that thing?” She questioned, poking her head over the man’s shoulder. “Looks like you’re about ready to start weaving together a wedding dress with all this.” She snaked her arms around his neck, leaning on him with a playful flick of her tail.

“I’m not sure what that is, but I could make one if you told me how. It’s just something to stretch across the cave.” Blaise explained, holding the cloth out for her to feel.

“What, to keep mosquitoes out? You’ve got some work to do if that’s the case.”

“No, to keep the kids in.”

“Hah?”

“Yeah.” Blaise replied. “You told me earlier that you wanted to have some alone time, so I made this. If one of them gets out of bed and starts to crawl around, they can’t get out.” He explained. The man’s back legs did most of the work for him, leaving his hands free to move about as he spoke. “It’s almost done now, I’ll just have to stick it on the wall.”

“Really?” The woman asked, pleasantly surprised. “Thank you.”Gingerly, she rubbed the web cloth between her fingers. “I’ll never get over how strange this feels. Humans make their clothes out of fur and plants most of the time. It’s a lot smoother than cotton.”

The arraneum shifted, moving one of his arms to rest around Louise’s back as he worked. “Cotton? What’s that?” He asked, spinning on auto-pilot.

“It’s a soft, thick thing that comes from a plant. Humans make strings out of it, and then they weave the strings together and make clothes out of them. You can’t find cotton plants out here in the mountains though, they’re all in the fields.” The naga explained as she fingered the cloth.

“So that’s what they’re made out of? I couldn’t tell what it was.” Blaised murmured. He pressed his current string of web to the floor, cutting it by the end and letting the end of the cloth drop. Using another leg, he rubbed it around on the dusty floor, allowing Louise to stay in her spot for another moment. He noted that she’d abandoned the cloth for her hands to wander to his chest. Blaise nudged her head with his own, a playful bump before he moved to stand. Louise slithered off of him, the warmth of her palms leaving his chest.

Blaise raised the cloth off of the ground, the light object barely dragging the ground as he dragged it towards the cave mouth. He stretched it from one end of the cavern mouth to the other, finding that he’d spun just a few inches too much. It would suffice for now, anyway. Blaise stepped out of the way, quietly gesturing for Louise to exit the cavern. As she crawled past, he glued one end of the cloth to the wall. Then, he crossed the width of the cave’s mouth, and attached it to the other side. Giving it a small tug, he tested the durability of the web, finding it to hold just tight enough to keep anything from wandering out of the cave.

Turning back to Louise, Blaise nodded silently. “That should work for now. At least until they really start moving around.” He chuckled at the end of his sentence. “Then it’ll be nearly impossible to keep track of them at all.” The arraneum spoke quietly, moving forward in the grass. Louise followed, catching up to move by his side.

Feeling fingers on his arm, Blaise turned to meet Louise’s eyes. She had them averted for a moment, slowly making contact. “Do you think it’d be okay if we went over to the creek for a while?” She asked sheepishly.

“Hm... Well, it wouldn’t hurt just for a little while. But that web won’t keep much of anything out as it is now. Maybe rats and mice.” Blaise told her. “But then again.... Maybe we shouldn’t, you’ve been acting kind of strange today. Do you feel alright?”

Louise’s ears shot up, as did the end of her tail. “Strange? What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’ve been kind of... I dunno, quiet, and for a few days you’ve been clinging to me like you’re feeling cold.” He reached out, pressing the back of his palm to her forehead. “Like right now, your face is red but your skin isn’t hot. It doesn’t seem like a fever, and you hardly ever get sunburn.” Blaise pulled his hand away, head cocked to one side.

“I’m not sick, promise.” Louise assured him. She took the hand that he’d held to her face in her own, slithering around and tugging him towards their beaten path. “Come on, just a little while will be fine. You haven’t left any meat hanging, so nothing’s going to come wandering around.”

Blaise hesitated at first, but with a second pull to his wrist, he gave in. “Alright.” He agreed in a whisper. This time he followed to catch up with her, exiting the clearing to traverse through their path to the water. It would be well within earshot of the cave anyway, in case something should go wrong in their absence. It didn’t take long before the fur on his feet had become moistened, and he was standing on the bank of the stream.

Louise stretched her arms out, grunting as she raised her arms up and brought them back to her side. She lowered her torso, sitting on the bank with the better half of her tail submerged in the water. Keeping his fur dry, Blaise sat down beside her. He watched the water in silence, the moonlight unmoving on its surface.

“Now that we’re away, can I ask you something?” Louise’s voice broke over the swishing sound of the water.

“Hm?” Blaise replied, eyes still glued to the gentle current.

“You know, it’s been awhile since I laid eggs, and a while now since they hatched. I’ve noticed that my body’s had some changes to it.”

“Of course, that’s what happens when you have children.”

“Yeah...” Louise murmured. This time, Blaise turned to look her. She had a funny expression again, avoidant and nervous. The woman pinched the skin between her nose and her forehead. “Ugh, how am I supposed to say this without sounding like a whore...”

“A who?” Blaise asked.

“Nevermind that part, human thing.” Louise waved her hand at him. “What I mean to say is, do you... Do you still think I look ok? Do you think I’m ugly?”

Blaise blinked. “ Of course not, you’re beautiful Louise! I love how your body looks, even though it’s a little different now, that doesn’t change how I look at you.”

“Would you still have sex with me then?”

“Huh?” Blaise squeaked.

Louise turned over, holding herself on her elbows. “I asked if you’d still fuck me. I’ve been all over you for a week and you’ve brushed me off every single time. I’m not going to get pregnant again if that’s what you’re worried about.” She questioned him, her bashful mood quickly slipping away.

Blaise shifted, holding in his embarrassment. “Gosh, so that’s it? I thought you were coming down with a cold.” He paused. “Of course I’d like to, I didn’t mean to shrug you off like that.”

“Nevermind it now, is that a yes then?” Louise had pulled herself up again, the familiar swish of her tail catching his eyes.

“Yeah, it is.” Blaise was welcoming as the woman pulled herself up and closer to his form.

“Right now?” She mumbled, the breath of her voice close enough to tickle his ear.

“Right now.” Blaise agreed, hands moving to her hips. No sooner was he lost in the feeling of being tangled up in the naga’s serpentine body, tail weaved between his eight legs. A second later, her back was on the bank and his chest was above hers. He fumbled to breath in through his nose as his lips were occupied the task of kissing hers. Louise behaved, and even felt confident below his hands. Perhaps difficult for him to process entirely, but certainly understandable, he could sense the empowerment in her heart as she was able to say ‘I want to do this’.

He reached down to grab her breast in his hands, and she hissed. Pulling back, Blaise noticed that he’d squeezed at the bite marks from earlier. “Woops, sorry about that.” He whispered, shifting to massage the other side. He was quickly recalling the drive, and the heated feeling of having his stomach fill with warmth. But accompanied with the heat in his blood, there was a light, relaxing feeling. He felt a hand on his cheek, and he snapped out of a small trance.

“You look like you’re thinking.” Louise told him.

“Mhm. It feels different.”  Blaise confessed. “Like... It feels like we just fell asleep together, or like I just watched you laugh a ton.”

Louise chuckled under her breath. “I noticed it too. I think it’s because I’m in love with you.”

Blaise leaned into the touch of her hand. “What do love and sex have to do with each other?”

“Mm... According to some, everything.” Louise answered him. “There’s a human way of saying it, when you’re doing it with someone that you love.”

“What is it?”

“Love-making.”

Blaise dipped down to kiss her cheek. “I don’t think sex will make me love you any more than I already do... But I feel it a lot right now.”

Louise wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Me too.” She murmured. “Now come on, enough romance, who knows how long we’ve got until one of the kids wakes up.” 


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah... this chapter has taken a while to write, mainly because I'm working with a new puppy and haven't had any time to myself. Either way, please enjoy this fluffy little chapter!

“Whew..” With a heavy breath, Blaise ran the back of his palm across his lips. He trailed blood onto his hand, even more dripping off of his nose and into the grass. At his feet was a dead doe, still bleeding out from her neck. Her rump sported a scabbed-over wound from where she’d either pierced herself, or been lucky enough to escape from another predator. Fortunately for Blaise, it had made her an easy catch. Bending over the creature, he heaved its carcass onto his abdomen. For a second he wished that Louise could have come along to help with the weight- but if anything, she had her hands full back at the cave. Tugging along with the weight on his back, he turned for home.

As the arraneum walked onward towards the cave, sweat began to seep into the ends of his hair. He needed to find a jagged rock and cut it, he thought as the sticky hair obscured his vision. As if the strain of carrying several hundred pounds on his back wasn’t enough to make his skin drip, the summer heat only added to the layer of sweat on his skin. He could already feel a burn developing on his shoulders, but he kept going on, knowing that his reward would be enough food to eat for two days.

Blaise’s ears perked up. Through the foliage he could hear voices, drawing closer to him.  The leaves in front of him rustled, and in a flash, something bolted from the bushes and up his leg.. He fumbled with the deer on his back, even more weight pressing down onto his lower body’s shell.

“Dad!” Peeped the creature that had leapt onto him. The familiar voice rang in his ears, and it didn’t take much to identify the four pairs of legs clinging to his fur.

“Ah...” Blaise made out through his labored breath. “Clovis, you can’t just go and leave your mom like that.” He reprimanded the child, knowing full well that he couldn’t understand. Seconds later, another rustle came through the bushes, and Blaise was met with the presence of a heaving naga in front of him.

“Fuck... That’s where he ran off.” Louise wheezed, bending over to put her hands on her tail. “He’s so fast, he’s got eight legs and I’ve got one.”

“Yeah, they’re a handful. He’ll be better once he figures out how to understand words a little more.” Blaise laughed, pulling the toddler off of his abdomen and up to his chest. Clovis wriggled around in his arms, snapping his jaws and kicking playfully at the air. “Teething doesn’t help either, I guess.”  

Louise straightened her back again, hands planted on her hips. “Two hands and a tail full, if anything.” She huffed. Her ears perked up as she took note of the carcass on his back. “You caught a deer? That’s great, we can take a break for a while. Speaking of which, you look like you’re going to faint- let’s go before you hit the dirt.” The woman reached out, taking her son back into her arms. Easier said than done, she held the squirming and peeping hatchling tight to her chest.

For the whole of three minutes, Blaise followed the naga back to their shared cavern. Entering the clearing, he spotted the pair of tiny naga curled up in the shade. Each gnawing away at dry bones, they opened their mouths as the sound of steps and slithering entered the clearing. Both followed after their parents, a little less than balanced on their tails.  Blaise could almost feel his legs melt as he crossed into the cavern, dumping the deer on the ground with a large ‘thud’. Another smaller noise followed, more than likely a rock fallen from the ceiling.

“There we go!” Blaise exclaimed. “Now you guys can eat as much as you want.”

Setting the tiny arraneum back onto the cave floor, Louise nodded. “Yeah. But, you should be thinking about eating too. More importantly, you need to drink some water before you sweat yourself to death.” She slithered deeper into the cavern, pulling a sewn-shut pouch off f the floor. It sloshed in her hands, full of water. The naga passed it over to Blaise, tending to the deer lain out on the stone. By now, the two naga children had abandoned their bones and crowded around the carcass.

Blaise tilted his head back and drank from the contents of the pouch. Swallowing it down to the last drop, he gave a long sigh of relief. Placing the bladder back onto the cave floor, he made to turn and eat with the rest of his family. Martin had already started to chew on the deer’s fur, trying with his tiny jaws to tear through the skin. Blaise nudged the child back with his hand, kneeling down to sink his teeth into the doe’s flank. He tore the skin back between his teeth, spitting fur in the opposite direction. With his hands, he pulled the skin back further, revealing the meat inside. Immediately the three children dug their faces in, snarfing and chomping with no concept of manners. Blaise ripped meat out with his hands, opening his mouth to take the first bite.

“Blaise. Where did this come from?”

The arraneum turned away from his food, head turning toward Louise’s voice. Near the back of the cave, she stood holding a small object in her hands.

The hairs on Blaise’s legs stood up as he recognized the item- the box that he’d taken from the human in their encounter, the one filled with different colored thread. He’d taken care to hide it away from Louise, for fear that she’d react the same way she had to the pen he’d brought back. But now, he’d accidentally gone and knocked it to the ground while throwing the deer down.

“Ack-!” Blaise choked. “It’s nothing!” The arraneum watched with shivers down his back as she examined both sides of the container. From the look in her eyes, playing dumb wouldn’t be an option. “Please don’t yell at me for having it, I brought it back when I met with that human. I didn’t want you to see it. Don’t get mad at me.”

Louise turned back to him, mild surprise written on her face. “Mad at you? I was only angry before because you went off and tried to face a human by yourself. Besides, it’s just a sewing kit.”

“...So it’s okay that I have it?” Blaise asked, shrunken down into his shoulders.

Louise approached him again. “I don’t see why not... It is a human thing, but it’s nothing important. What I don’t understand is why you’d take something like this and bring it back here. We can’t use it.”

Blaise’s cheeks flushed, hardly visible beneath the redness he’d gained from the sun. “I saw it and thought that it was pretty... It’s got all of those different colored threads inside, I’ve never seen anything like it. Arraneum can only make white and yellow ones- but there are a bunch of colors in there.” He explained, embarrassment written all across his features.

Louise held the box, eyes lit with surprise as Blaise finished his explanation. Then, with a snort, she laughed out loud. The arraneum jumped, forelegs both raised up in the air.

“What’s so funny? Hey, don’t laugh at me, I’m being honest!” He protested.

“No, no, I’m not laughing at you.” Louise chuckled. “Well... Maybe I am. I just think it’s funny that you’d think something like a couple of spools of thread are so interesting. This stuff is all over the place in the human world- they wear every day. Hell, I’ve had to wear clothes before. Humans can’t stand the sight of a tit, y’know.” She ran her thumb over the box, looking at it with a far-off stare.

“C’mere, I’ll show it to you.” The naga told Blaise. The arraneum sputtered, but trailed inches behind her as she slithered out of the cave. He skittered past the three children, back into the grass. Stepping into the sun again made his reddened skin hot, but curiosity kept the pain tucked into the back of his mind.

Louise stopped in the middle of the clearing, the box in her hands. Blaise peered down at it, eyes trailing behind the woman’s fingers as she opened the container. He bent to look closely at the box’s contents. A rainbow of different threads tied around tiny spools, and a couple of metallic objects tossed in to take up the leftover space. “So... Are these made out of that cotton stuff you were telling me about before? It doesn’t look like a plant.”

“Well, this isn’t exactly how it grows out.” Louise pushed the box closer to him. “Which one do you like?”

“Which one?” Blaise asked, voice trailing off half-way through. His fingers hovered over the row of colored spools within the box. Carefully, he picked one that had been wrapped in blue thread. “This one looks like my fur.” He commented, holding the object between his forefinger and thumb. He rolled it around, examining the color and texture. To Blaise, the feeling of something that appeared to be web, but composed of something entirely different, was fascinating.

Louise gave a single chuckle. “The blue one? I should’ve known.” She grinned, flicking the tip of her tail against the grass. “Come to think of it, I think I might have a use for this after all... Do you think the kids will be hunting before winter?”

Blaise returned the spool of thread to the box. “Yeah, it’ll probably be another month. But what does that have to do with this stuff?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t think there’s enough of it in there to make clothes.”

“I can’t tell you yet- it’s a surprise.” Louise replied. With a click, she closed the box once more. Blaise frowned, whining in the back of his throat.

“A surprise? Come on, you can’t tell me?” He pleaded.

“Not until it’s done. And with what I have in mind, it’ll be a while before I can give it to you. Be patient.” The naga told him, face still reading mischief.

Blaise humphed. “You know, this doesn’t even make sense. Normally, you get angry whenever I even say the word ‘human’. Why are you acting like it’s no big deal all of a sudden?”

Louise blinked at him, taken aback by his sudden push of forwardness. “Well, you could take it a couple of ways. I could just be a mother who’s lost the edge on her tongue by baby-talking three kids all the time... Or, it could be that I’m trying to accept the human inside of you.” She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. “I hate humans. So much that when you first told me about why you have a face like a man’s, I thought about running away and never coming back here. But... I know that it’s only natural that you want to know about human things and how they work.” She looked down at the box in her hands, her gaze far-away once more. “It’s how I feel about naga. If I could have naga things, I’d love to know all about them.”  

Blaise felt words in his throat, but they were caught behind his tongue. “Louise...” He felt the naga push his shoulder playfully, pulling her hand back to motion him back into the cave.

“Don’t mope, come here. You killed this thing- you’d better eat it.”

The arraneum shuffled his feet for a second, but a smile fast grew between his cheeks. “Mm, be right there!” 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO A CHAPTER THAT DOESN'T SUCK  
> AND IS RELATIVELY ON SCHEDULE
> 
> Also: from now on I'm going to start including the picture for each chapter here :3c

“What’re we doing out here?”

“Shush, you’ll see.” Blaise replied in a whisper. His daughter slithered along behind him, so close that half of her body was shielded by his body. Beneath his abdomen. His two sons joined him as well. They crawled along, their movements wobbly with balance that hadn’t quite yet been perfected. Just in front of him, Louise slithered along. Her ears perked up and her torso lowered close to the ground as she could be while still slithering, she crept along towards the nearest patch of meadow.

Arriving at a patch of bushes just downwind from the clearing, the woman hunkered down slowly. In silence she positioned herself to where she could just see out of the shrubbery into the clearing. Blaise followed, the trio of hatchlings grouping around him. Clovis pulled at his arm impatiently.

“What’s goin’ on?” He asked, rubbing one sleepy eye. Dawn had just passed, a bad time for hatchlings to be awake- but the perfect moment to catch fawn and turkeys passing through.

“Shh, don’t talk.” Blaise told him, quieting them once again. “Just watch, and don’t make a sound.” He motioned his head toward Louise, who sat in wait of prey in the grass. For a moment, his eyes fell on her shoulders- admiring the way that the muscles moved beneath her flesh. Scarred as it was, Blaise couldn’t help but admire the muscles shifting in her back. He shifted his focus away from her and to the meadow. Ears perked and eyes wide, he watched.

After a moment, his ears caught the sound of his children crawling up beside his face and shoulders, watching as well. They couldn’t know for what just yet, but Blaise knew that in due time, something would come. All that remained up to chance was how long his children could keep quiet. It was enough of a disadvantage that all five of them were crowded together, their scent could be given off.

But then, Blaise heard shuffling in the grass. Beside him, Louise’s tail had curved, and she lifted herself by mere inches onto the balls of her hands. Blaise squinted, and caught sight of a hen perched in one of the outlying trees of the meadow. He stiffened, the feeling of the air around him changing as Louise made ready to pounce. That was, if the turkey was waiting to fly from the tree to the ground. With luck, it would come flapping down close enough for the naga to pounce.

Three heads bobbed up and down next to Blaise’s, trying to find the source of their parent’s attention by themselves. Blaise took one hand and slowly pushed their curious faces back down into the grass. He blinked, and the hen had moved from the branch. One flap of its wings, then two, and its feet grazed the grass.

The creature barely had time to land before Louise bolted. With leaves flying off of the bushes where she darted through them, Louise was gone and across the meadow in the blink of an eye. The three children faltered as they moved to follow her, Blaise hopping through the bushes as well.

Louise had caught the turkey by its leg, fighting its wild movement and horrified gobbles. It escaped for a moment, scratching the naga’s belly before she caught it again. This time, she had it by the wing- one hand cracking the feathered limb, the other around the animal’s neck, Louise closed her fist and crushed the hen’s windpipe. Then, she brought her second hand up, a sickening crack piercing the air as the animal’s neck was broken. It went limp, last scream dying in the breeze.

Crowded between their father’s legs once again, the three children were silent. They watched as their mother stood up again, tossing her hair back out of her face and heaving breath.

“Daddy, did she kill it?” Martin was the first to break the silence.

Blaise turned to look at him, lifting the leg that the hatchling had cowered under. “She did. That’s how we get food, we kill things.”

“Didn’t she hurt it? Why was it crying like that?” Rosalie piped in.

“Yes, but only for a second.” Blaise answered again. Today marked the first time that he’d brought his and Louise’s children along to see how hunting was done. They weren’t quite big enough to do it themselves yet, but certainly intelligent enough to start learning. Unfortunately, the reality of ending the lives of other things was the first lesson to be learned.

“It’s dead.” Louise huffed as she caught her breath. “Still twitching a little bit.” She noted, poking the turkey with the end of her tail. It gave a feeble jerk, the body still hot with adrenaline. The naga turned back to face the rest of her family, the children running over as soon as they could see her face.

“It is dead!” Clovis commented as they closed in on the freshly-killed carcass. “You killed it mommy!”

Louise smiled, brushing hair behind her ear. “I did, now we all get to eat it as soon as we carry it home. If we leave it here, the other animals won’t want to come around and we can’t hunt here for a while.”

“It died that fast?” Rosalie questioned, tugging on the animal. It twitched, and she jumped back to hide behind her mother.

“Well, it doesn’t take very long sometimes. The faster you kill something, the better.” Louise told her. She hoisted the turkey up by its leg, slinging it over her shoulder. Feathers flew through the air, fluttering to the ground around her. Martin pulled one off of his head after it landed, stroking it between his fingers.

Blaise sauntered up to the rest of them, unable to open his mouth before someone else spoke up. “Mommy, you’re hurt!” Rosalie cried out as she slithered out from behind her mother. Louise blinked, looking down at her stomach. Blood dripped from her belly where the turkey had clawed into it. She put her hand over the spot, pressing down.

“It’s fine, that happens sometimes.” She replied, looking to Blaise. “Could you lend me a bit of-”

“Got it.” Blaise replied. He pulled web out from between his spinneretes, approaching the woman. He pressed the sticky thread to her belly, bandaging up the scratch. “How’s that?”

Louise smiled. “Better, thanks.”

Clovis patted Blaise’s leg. “I wanna help!” He exclaimed. He pulled webs out with his hand, too small to reach his mother’s stomach. Blaise chuckled and lifted the child up off of the ground. He let Clovis stick a messy clump of webs over the bandage. “Good! Now it won’t hurt!” He cried triumphantly.

One hand still holding the carcass around her shoulder, Louise bent over to pat the boy on the head. “Thank you, that feels so much better.” She praised him. “Come on now, let’s go home.” She pushed the tiny arraneum along with the end of her tail. Clovis pattered off, circling around Blaise’s back legs.

The adult arraneum led the three children off to the edge of the meadow, waiting for Louise to catch up and move beside him. They crossed back through the bushes, moving forward through the trees. The two parents moved slowly to keep up with the smaller strides of the hatchlings. Blaise continued trotting on, coming to a slow halt as Louise did. He looked over his shoulder, eyes falling on Martin. The little naga had stopped, tears in his eyes and hands pulling them off of his own face.

“What’s wrong?” He asked the child. “Did you get a thorn stuck in your tail?”

Martin shook his head, hiccupping. “Why’d you have to kill it? Why’d it have to die, why do we gotta eat it?” He sobbed.

Blaise took a step forward, but Louise blocked his path. She sat the dead animal at Martin’s heel, lowering her torso down closer to his. The woman stroked his head comfortingly. “You have to eat, Martin. Or you’ll die too.”

“I don’t wanna.” The boy replied.

“Martin.” Louise said precisely. “Do you want to die?”

“No...”

“Then you have to eat. We only die so that other things can live. If we don’t kill and eat turkeys, then there will be too many of them, and not enough to eat. Then even more turkeys will die.” She explained gently. “We have to kill and eat other animals for the good of everything in the forest. Understand?”

Martin sniffled as his mother wiped tears off of his cheeks. “Mhm...” He mumbled.

“Good. Now let’s go home and make sure that this one died to keep us all alive.” She tousled the boy’s hair one more time. The child’s cheeks were pushed up as he grinned, eyes soaking back the last of his tears. Louise straightened herself up again, nodded at the boy, and turned back around to keep pressing forward.

The rest of them followed after her lead, trekking the short distance through the trees, past the fallen one, and back to the clearing they called home. Not a second after she entered the grass, Louise tossed the dead bird from her shoulder to the ground. “Alright, get eating you three. Before long you’ll be out there hunting on your own.”

 

Later on, when the sun had set and the three children had fallen asleep in their hammocks, the pair of adults snuck off to walk through the trees together. Louise slithered alongside Blaise, both silent in the dim moonlight.

Blaise sighed through his nose. “That was a good thing you did for Martin, earlier today.”

“Hm?” Louise hummed beside him. “It was the least I could do, he nearly shoved that wishbone so far up his nose that he pulled a chunk of his brains out.”

The arraneum chuckled. “No, not that. I mean when he was crying. Because he didn’t want the turkey to die. I’m glad that you explained it to him the way that you did. I don’t think I could have handled it like that.”

Slowing only slightly, Louise crossed her arms over her chest. “It was the only thing that I could do. I mean I didn’t tell him anything else than the truth. If he doesn’t kill, he’ll die, and something else will live instead. If he doesn’t learn that now, he’ll have a much harder time later on.” The woman nodded her head at her own words. “They are just kids, and they’re mine to boot, but you can’t let them go easy all the time.”

“Yeah...” Blaise agreed. He continued to walk, pushing over branches that Louise couldn’t step over. “I remember when I learned about that. I didn’t know why we had to kill things when we were all working to keep ourselves alive. A little while later, my mom taught me about the cycle of life and how it works.”

“I remember that too, of all things. I let a rabbit go because it cried, and my mother didn’t let me eat until I went back out the next day and caught something. I didn’t learn much about any cycles, but I knew that if I didn’t kill them, I’d starve.” Louise recalled. “But really, I didn’t tell him anything different from what I thought you’d say.”

Blaise was taken aback, a small choking sound bubbling from his throat. “Really? I guess I’d say something like that...” He scratched the back of his head. “But what about when they ask about other things? Like more questions about death, and about how life is made, things like sex and sickness and all that. Do you think you can answer them yourself?” He stopped. “And when they’re sick, can you handle that? If one of them is eaten by something else, will you be able to take it?”  

“Of course I can.” Louise replied immediately. She turned around to face him where he’d stopped. “I’m their mother, I accepted that responsibility the moment I decided to keep and raise the lot of them. If anything, should be asking you those questions. Arraneum men don’t watch their children grow up, and they aren’t made to face the challenge that kids are. You made a choice too, to stay here and help me raise them. Can you stand it if something happens to one of them?”

Blaise’s muscles had stiffened as Louise spoke. She’d raised her torso up to stand taller than him, looking down from where she’d moved just inches away. Firmly, he nodded. “Yes. Anything they want or need, I’ll do my best. And if something happens... I’ll live with it. I won’t just give up on everything I’ve dreamed for.”

“Good.” Louise’s grin returned to her lips, and she lowered herself back to normal height once more. “Don’t worry about it then. We just have to make it through one winter, and everything will be fine.”

Blaise nodded. “Yeah. One winter.”

That was easy for Louise to say, he thought. She had no idea how much it took to make it through. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading~


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there you guys! It's an update, and ON TIME HOLY SHIT!!!! I actually really wanted to update, because today marks Blaise's third irl birthday. Which means, 3 years ago today, I drew/created the very first concept for Blaise! It's been such a long journey, and now the novel is pretty much at the half-way point I feel. Part 2 won't be as long as part 1 for sure. Anyway, thank you all so much for being here and for reading this story up until this point. It means so much that you take time out of your days to read about my silly little OCs. Thank you.

Blaise flopped over onto his back. A dim sense of waking rolling over him, he opened his eyes. The sun tempted the darkness, mixing with the light from the moon outside of the cave. With a small grunt, he turned back over onto his stomach. He bumped into Louise’s tail, hearing it shift as she subconsciously moved out of the way. He pulled his body up onto his elbows, giving a quiet yawn. He stood, tip-toeing out of the bed and onto the stone. He stretched, popping bones in his back and wiggling his abdomen in the air.

Stepping gingerly, he walked past the naga and to the three hammocks in the back of the cave. All three children slept quietly, to the point where Blaise had second thoughts about disturbing any of them. But, he told himself, he’d been through the same thing as a child- might as well exercise the same treatment on his own. He tapped Clovis’ shoulder, then shook it with his palm. He earned a grunt, and a feeble wave of the child’s hand.

“Clovis.” He mumbled. “Hey, get up. You’ve gotta wake up now.” He continued until the boy’s eyes opened up. The hatchling rubbed at his drooping eyelids with both hands, sleepy and confused.

“Why’d you wake me up for?” The tiny arraneum whined. “I’m tired!”

“I know, but we’ve got to go hunting.” Blaise replied. At this point, the two naga children had stirred as well. “Just me and you, we’ll go find some birds to eat.”

Clovis grunted again. “Can’t we do it later?”

“Nope, if we don’t do it while you’re hungry, it’ll be harder for you to hunt by yourself.” He shook the boy again, picking him up out of the hammock. Clovis struggled until he was let back down onto the stone. Blaise pulled a bladder full of water off of the floor, handing it to him. “Go ahead and drink.” He mumbled. Clovis had already begun to fiddle with the opening of the pouch, drinking from the inside and pulling the draw-string closed again.

“Mn... You want me to kill something all on my own?” The child asked, looking up to his father as he started to wake. “I don’t think I can do it daddy, what if I get scratched?”

Blaise smiled. “You won’t get scratched, don’t worry.” He nudged the child with the foot end of his foreleg. “Come on now, let’s go before the sun comes up. It’ll be easier to find a good hiding spot that way.”

Reluctantly the boy nodded his head, pulling himself along behind his father’s back feet. In the dark, he stepped on the point-end of Louise’s tail. The woman stirred, eyes opening to the sight of both arraneum exiting the cave.

“Hey...” She grumbled, voice hoarse from sleep. “What are you two doing? It’s like five in the morning.”

Blaise turned. “I’m taking Clovis hunting.”

“Hunting? Isn’t he a little young still? And why so early...” The drowsy woman continued.

“He’ll hunt better if he’s hungry. Don’t worry, we’ll be back by the time you wake up again. Go back to sleep.” Blaise whispered to her. He rubbed Clovis’ head with one of his feet, turning his back again. Behind him, Louise began to settle into bed once more.

“Alright... Jus’ bring the bones back for me.”

“Sure.” Blaise chuckled. He stepped out into the grass, nearly tripping over the boy that had found his way under him.

 

Blaise led his son out into the woods, off a ways farther than he normally would have gone on his own. In fact, it was a hunting ground that he’d used often before moving into the cave with Louise. He wondered if the old web he’d been living in was still hanging, or if the weather had reduced it to tatters. Probably the latter, he assumed as he walked along with the young boy at his heels. Being here now felt strange.

Once he found a considerably sized thicket, the larger arraneum crouched down into the grass. Clovis did the same. Now that he’d accompanied his parents on several hunting trips, he could understand that silence was the key to success. He hid himself in the grass, abdomen wagging back and forth despite himself. The boy’s father glanced over at him, a tiny smile tugging the lines of his mouth.

“Just watch now. In a while, something will come close to us. Don’t move until you can practically smell it.” Blaise breathed. Clovis nodded silently, determination apparent in his tiny green eyes. “And remember, the best thing you can do is to break the neck. That’ll kill anything quickly.”

“Mhm!” Clovis hummed in response. While the sun came up, the pair of arraneum knelt in the grass, waiting for the first living thing that came within their reach. The task was more easily said than done. The sun came up, and while birds fluttered between the trees, nothing came down to land in the grassy clearing in front of them. Blaise could sense that his son was growing impatient, his legs kicking anxiously in the grass. Slowly, he reached out and rubbed the boy’s head in an effort to make him be still.

It wasn’t very long after that a small flock of birds found the clearing, fluttering in like a cloud settling to the bottom of the grass. Blaise immediately put his hand on Clovis’ back. “Not yet. They’re too far away.” He mouthed. Clovis’ lips formed a pout, but he kept watching the birds in front of him.  Blaise kept his hand on the boy’s back, waiting silently. The birds migrated from the trees to the ground several times, moving in complete synch with one another. The wave of bodies washed back and forth from the canopy to the ground, the edge of the flock coming closer to his nose each time.

As a stray feather flew just over their heads, Blaise took his hand off of his son’s back. The tiny arraneum bolted out into the clearing, a chorus of flaps and squawks erupting in the air. Blaise jumped out as well, watching the chaos as the child reached out in a storm cloud of frenzied birds. Blaise watched his hand wrap around the leg of a straggling creature, bringing it back down to the earth. There was a thud as the child brought the animal down hard, and a crack as the child’s jaws closed tight around its windpipe.

Clovis straightened himself up from where he’d been curled overtop of the animal. He blinked, poked the dead bird with his front leg, and turned back to his father. “Daddy, I killed it.” He said, almost as if confused. Blaise trotted up to him, holding his head up proudly.

“You did. It’s food now, you can eat it.”

“It was a bird a second ago.” The boy muttered.

Blaise bent down, rubbing his son’s head. “Don’t worry. The bird isn’t hurt or sad. It’s in a nicer place now.”

Clovis cocked his head to one side. “A nicer place?”

“Mhm. Everything moves on to a nice place when they die. And in return, the things that are still alive use the body that they left behind.” Blaise told him. “I’ll explain more when you’re older. It’s not so easy to understand when you’re so little.”

“Hmph, I’m not that little.” Clovis huffed, stamping his teeny-tiny foot on the ground. He tossed the bird over his shoulder, imitating the way that his mother carried his prey. “I wanna show mommy, let’s go home!” He exclaimed, promptly bouncing off and back towards home. Blaise grinned, following straight after.

 

Back home, the sun rising caused Louise to get up out of bed as well. The two smaller naga slept, and she slipped off for a cat bath and a drink at the stream. The summer sun felt good on her flesh and her scales. It wouldn’t be long before she’d be due to shed again, she thought. As her children grew, she found herself picking up shed skins, and even tiny molts of spider shells. That meant that Blaise must molt sometimes too, she thought while pouring water out of her hands and over her face.

 Once finished with her bath, the woman slithered back along the beaten path towards home, rubbing lingering sleep out of her eyes. A spot of blue stood in the grass as she returned to the clearing, followed by a larger one crawling through the bushes.

Clovis turned towards his mother, face lighting up. He pranced towards the naga, holding out the bird’s body. “Mommy, look! I killed it all by myself!”

Louise blinked, staring down at the dead animal. “You did?” She asked, exaggerating the excitement in her voice. She lowered herself down, tousling the child’s hair beneath her palm. “That’s so good Clovis, I’m proud of you!” She watched the boy’s face light up, his tiny fangs still stained red.

“He did a great job.” Blaise told the naga. “Next time, I’ll show you how I use my webs to make catching birds easier.” He promised the boy.

“Mm!” Clovis agreed, nodding his head. “Can I eat it now?” He asked his father excitedly.

“Not just yet.” The larger arraneum said. “You should always make room to share. Give some to Mommy, I’m sure she’s hungry too.”

Louise’s tail flicked at the end. “Blaise, you don’t have to-”

“No.” The man shook his head. ‘This is how arraneum do it, we share what we have when we can. I want all three of them to know that.” He explained.

While his father spoke, the smaller arraneum didn’t hesitate to bite open the bird’s body. He took a bite, pulling out flesh with his teeth. He spat it back out into his hand, holding it up. “Here you go Mommy, don’t be hungry.” He said, waiting patiently for her to take it. She reached down, gingerly taking the meat and placing it between her lips. It only took a moment to chew and swallow, but she smiled big and rubbed her stomach.

“Yummy, that was great!” She told him, continuing to stroke his confidence. “Now you eat the rest of it, and make sure to give mommy the bones when you’re done.”

“Okay!” Clovis responded, and not a second later, he had his mouth full.  

With his hands on his hips, Blaise watched his son eat with a proud twinkle in his eyes. “Alright then, I’ll go ahead and catch some fish for the rest of us. Louise, you can start teaching Martin and Rosalie how to hunt tomorrow morning. I’d do it myself, but I don’t know how you nagas are supposed to hunt.” The man said. Louise nodded in agreement.

“Right. I can do it.”

“Mn, here’s one of the bones mommy!” Clovis exclaimed from below, tugging on the woman’s hand. Louise took it, spinning the tiny object between her fingers. She smiled, tongue darting out of her mouth, then straight back in.

“Looks like I’m going to be pretty busy for a while.”

 

In the days that followed, both parents took the children hunting regularly. Louise taught the pair of naga how to choke and squeeze an animal to death with their tails. Meanwhile, Blaise showed Clovis how to spin fishing nets, and long ropes that would stop birds and squirrels in their tracks. Martin’s first kill was a squirrel, and Rosalie’s a rabbit. Blaise watched as Louise collected bones from both animals, never so sure as to why she found a need for them. Maybe to keep as chewing toys, he thought.  

The man napped in his webs, sleeping contentedly with the shade saving him from sun burn. However, his peaceful rest was disturbed by shaking on his shoulder. “Daddy, daddy wake up! You told me you’d teach me how to fish today!”

Blaise grunted. “Clovis, I will later, lemme sleep.”

“I’m Martin!” The naga cried.  

The arraneum’s eyes shot open. He was met with the sight of his son, four feet off of the ground in his webs. “Martin?! How’d you get up here?” The man asked. “You should be stuck!”

“Stuck? I’m not stuck, your webs aren’t sticky on me!” Martin told him. He grabbed his father’s arm, pulling at it. “Now help me catch fishies, I wanna go!”

“S...Sure...!” Blaise stammered. He watched Martin zip back down to the ground, slithering through his father’s webs as if they were a slide. The arraneum blinked his saucer-wide eyes. Martin didn’t stick, he thought. That could only mean that his body had the same non-stick ability that arraneum had, like Clovis had inherited the forked tongue. He scratched the back of his head, and chuckled. “The gods work in strange ways, I guess.”

Blaise descended the webs, crawling back onto the grass. Martin waited for him below, fishing net already in hand. “Louise!” He called into the cavern. “Where’s Rosalie?”

“I’m in here!” The little naga answered first, springing out of the cave. “Are you going to take me fishing too Daddy? Can I go?” She asked.

“I’m sorry, but I just need you to do something for me.” Blaise told her. He pulled a strand of web out from his abdomen, pulling it into his hands. “Take this.” He said, holding the string out for her. The girl reached out gingerly, grabbing the web with both fingers. As the arraneum had suspected, it didn’t stick to her hand.

“It’s not sticking...” The man looked up as Louise had come to the mouth of the cave. She watched as her daughter played with the strand of web, pulling at it and wrapping it around her fingers. “They must have gotten it from you.” She said, scratching the back of her skull. She stopped abruptly, then let her hand drop back down to her side. “Rosalie, let Daddy go alone with Martin. I need both you and Clovis to help me with something special.

“Ooh, what is it Mommy?” The girl asked.

“It’s a secret.” She informed her. Across from them both, Blaise had his head cocked to the side. He couldn’t think of what she was on about, secrets, and needing Rosalie’s help with something all of a sudden. Maybe it was a naga thing?

“Oh... Alright, but Martin and I are going fishing now. We’ll be back soon.” The man informed her.”

“Yay fishing!” Martin chirped, hopping in excitement. He grabbed his father’s leg, pulling him towards the stream. “Let’s go Daddy, let’s go!” He pulled his stammering father along, yelling about fishing before the arraneum even had a chance to say goodbye.

Meanwhile, Louise and her daughter stood at the mouth of the cave. The older woman placed her hands on her hips, bending over Rosalie. “Did you break that web?” She asked.

“Nu-uh.” Rosalie replied, showing her mother the string.

“Good, we can use that one since it’s fresh. Follow me.” She turned back into the cave, bringing her daughter along. She moved all the way to the back of the cavern, reaching up onto a ledge. She felt around, nudging the sewing kit that Blaise had hidden there. Along with it, the naga had tucked away three pieces of bone. One from a bird, another from a squirrel, and a third from a rabbit. Each one had a hole chiseled through the center, made possible by the sewing needle from inside of the box. She picked up the pieces of bone into her hand, along with the sewing kit.

“What’s that Mommy?” Rosalie asked, eyeing the red box.

“It’s something made by humans. It’s called a sewing kit.” She replied, coiling her tail and sitting on the stone below.

“A hoomun?” The girl peeped. “What kind of animal is that?”

“They’re very scary ones. And they’re very smart. They look like all of us, but they have two legs that look like big arms.” She explained.

“Sounds gross!”

“They are. But, your father took this after fighting one. Look inside.” Louise opened the box, showing off the different colors of string. Rosalie gasped, wide-eyed at the contents.

“They’re pretty webs!” She cried out.

Louise chuckled. “Not exactly. It’s thread. Anyway, watch this.” She pulled out the spool covered in blue string, pulling it out to arm’s length. She doubled it, then tripled it, making a thicker strand to work with. “Go get a thread from your brother, just as long as the one Daddy gave you.” She said then. She nodded at Clovis, asleep in his hammock.

Rosalie slithered over, tapping her brother on the back. “Clovis, I need a web!”

The boy groaned, rolling over. “A web?” He asked drowsily.

“Mhm, Mommy wants one.”

The boy yawned, reaching over and pulling a long strand from his spinnerets. Rosalie took it, allowing the boy to roll back over and sleep. She approached her mother again, holding out the two webs. “Here you go!”

“Alright. Hold on just a minute.” Louise instructed. She took the pieces of bone into her hand, stringing them onto the threads, tying knots to keep them from knocking together. She paused once she’d placed the third piece of bone on, feeling that perhaps, it was missing something. She shifted to take the end of her tail into her hand. There had been a loose scale bothering her there anyway, she thought. Grabbing on to the crooked scale, she yanked it away from herself while trying not to flinch. Then, she held the string with her tail-end, picking out a needle from the box.

Patiently, Rosalie watched as her mother poked a hole through the scale. Her eyes trained onto Louise’s fingers, she observed her tying the green piece of her body onto the object. Louise held the object up, and smiled. “Alright, this is where you come in.” She told the girl. “I need you to thread the webs through the holes like I did.” She passed the object over to Rosalie.

“I think I can...” Rosalie mumbled. Slowly, she took each web into her hands. She fumbled a bit- but after several minutes, she’d strung the webs in with the other pieces. Louise rubbed her head with one hand.

“Good job. Almost done now.” She told the girl, taking back the stringy object. Using the hand that she’d rubbed in the girl’s hair, she tied knots on both ends, securing the three of them together. She held it up, giving it a firm shake to be sure that everything was firmly held in place.   
“There, all done.”

“What’s it s’posed to be?” Rosalie asked, flopping over her mother’s tail.

“Something called a necklace. It’s for your father.”

“Looks like a string with some bones on it to me.” The child commented, curling up and chasing the end of her own tail. Her mother rolled her eyes, fiddling with the necklace. Louise fumbled with it, cheeks hot. She wasn’t an eight year old, she told herself. But there was still a kind of nervousness in her stomach as she examined the makeshift jewellery. Blaise was an arraneum, and necklaces probably weren’t something they even had, let alone liked. But then again, he was Blaise, simple as he was endearing.

She sat there for a while, watching Rosalie play with anything that caught her attention for more than half of a second. Her ears shot up at the sound of snapping twigs outside, and she clasped the necklace in her hand. Seconds later, her son came bounding into the cave with a fish still flopping around in his net.

“Mommy, Mommy I caught a fish! Look!” He practically shoved the net up Louise’s nostril, causing the already distressed fish to flop even more.

“Good job!” She told him.

There was a rustling of leaves as Blaise came rushing through the bushes. “Martin?” He called out. “Where’d you go?”

“I’m in here!” Martin called, zipping out to meet his father. Blaise wheezed, supporting himself on his knees.

“Don’t run away from Daddy like that, okay? Wait for me next time.” The man huffed. He straightened himself up, pushing his hair back out of his face. “Did you show her your fish? You should kill it and eat it before it dries out on its own.”

Martin didn’t need any further instructing. He slithered out to the fallen tree, sitting down and pulling the fish out to eat. Blaise didn’t stick around to watch the animal’s end, moving into the cave where he could cool down. “Well, we’re back.” He called. His daughter sped over to him, pulling on his leg. Blaise flinched as she pulled hairs.

“Daddy, me and Mommy made something for you!” She exclaimed. Behind her, Louise jumped, clenching the necklace in her fist even harder. Blaise immediately turned to the naga in the back of the cave, crawling closer. He poked his head forward curiously, eyes pinned to Louise’s closed hand.

“What is it?” He questioned, poking his head about to see what his lover was hiding.

For once, Louise’s confidence faltered. “It’s nothing special.” She practically meeped. She stood up on her tail, slipping past the arraneum. “But you should come out in the light before you see it.” The naga led him away towards the cave mouth, the man trailing just inches behind.

After leading Blaise out into the light, Louise opened her hand. “I put it together while you were gone.” She held it out further, the necklace resting on her palm.

“...It looks like a string with some bones in it.”

The apple doesn’t fall from the tree, Louise thought. “Here. Let me put it on for you.” She said, reaching up over his neck. He fidgeted while she tied the necklace around him, double-knotting the ends together. “Alright.” She hummed.

Blaise pressed his chin to his collar, trying to look at the object tied around his neck. “What is it?”

Louise crossed her arms. “It’s a necklace. I made out of of things that I thought you’d think were important.” She told him. Blaise raised an eyebrow, as if to say ‘what?’. “Well... Those bones are from the rabbit, the bird, and the squirrel that the kids killed first. The scale’s mine, and the webs are yours and Clovis’. The blue string is the one from the sewing kit that you said you liked the most. You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to, I just thought I’d give myself something to d-”

Louise was cut off by a bear hug that consisted of four limbs. She choked, unable to guide her hands to Blaise’s back. “That’s amazing, I can’t believe you made something like this!” Blaise told her, squeezing her tighter. “You put all that thought into it, can I wear it all the time? Please?”

“Yeah, of course...” The naga told him. “Hey, lemme breath now.” She pushed the man away, only to be pulled back and showered with kisses. There were tears evident on the corners of Blaise’s eyelids now, shining just enough for Louise to catch them between smooches. As a result, heat flared up in her cheeks. “Do you really like it that much?” She mumbled.

“I love it.” Blaise told her, finally giving the woman space to breath. “Nobody’s ever done anything like this for me before. I mean... You took time and put thought into making something like this for me. Now I can wear it all the time, and I’ll be able to think of you whenever it’s on.” This time, the man leaned in to kiss her on the lips. “And I love you, thank you so much. I’ll never take it off.”  

Louise grinned, visibly flattered. “I love you too.”

Blaise kissed her again. His necklace settled into the groove of his collarbone, exactly where it belonged. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Remember to leave a comment, kudos, or to subscribe to the story if you'd like to be the first to know when new chapters come out :)


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not on time but... yeah, this chapter sorta begins the descent into the end of part 1. From here on out, writing shouldn't be too big of a problem, because I have the rest of the story planned out nearly word for word at this point. I hope you enjoy, thanks for reading~

Crunch.

Blaise stepped over a leaf on the creek’s bank. All around, the trees were slowly beginning to lose their viridian color. Yellow speckles began to litter the treetops and the forest floor, a sign that summer was ending, and autumn was poking its head around the corner. The water was cooler, if only just slight enough to detect.

The arraneum stood knee-deep in the water, downstream from Louise and his children. Net in hand, he locked his eyes onto the water. Up the way the pair of naga munched loudly at the animals they’d already caught, spitting scales out into the grass. Their mother sat with them, already gorged on fish and curled up in her own tail to rest. Meanwhile, the tiny arraneum splashed around, swiping minnows into his net and swallowing them whole.

Louise yawned, slowly ascending from where she’d been coiled up on the ground. “I’m beat.” She drawled, stretching herself out. She unfurled her tail, turning towards the arraneum downstream. “Hey, I’m going home!” She called out.

Keeping quiet so as not to alarm the fish, Blaise turned his head towards the naga, waving his free hand to signal that he’d gotten the message. He watched the naga turn, then pause as the pair of serpentine toddlers crowded around her side.

“I wanna go too!” Rosalie told her, grabbing onto Louise’s hand. The woman laced their fingers together, nodding as she began to guide the little girl along with her. Martin followed silently, slithering off of the gravel bank and back into the grass. The pair of arraneum were left together, continuing their hunt.

Blaise’s eyes wandered away from the water for a moment. He watched Clovis dance around up the way, splashing and disrupting the quiet. It couldn’t be helped, he supposed, even if he was disturbing the fish. His eyes locked onto his son, he wondered in the back of his mind for a moment- was he really so small, or were naga naturally larger than arraneum children? The other two were rapidly outgrowing him, both in size and in strength. He seemed so tiny. For some reason, it worried him- but then again, the boy had a whole season to catch up on growing before winter would settle in.

Suddenly, the boy stopped. Blaise blinked as he observed the child hunkering down. He acted as if he were about to pounce on something, but the man couldn’t make out much more than rocks. Then, he saw the flash of something wet and hard moving in front of the boy.

Blaise dropped his net. “Clovis, don’t move!” He shouted. Clovis jumped back, wide-eyed at his father’s raised voice. Hastily, the arraneum waded towards the stunned child. Just as he’d suspected, the boy had been inches away from the jaws of a snapping turtle. He stretched one leg out, shielding his son from the animal. “Don’t touch that thing, it can hurt you. I’ll take care of it.” He said. Clovis backed away quietly, making room for his father.

The man gulped. He didn’t want a snapper hanging around where his children hunted, but with those jaws... He could be putting himself in danger. He circled around the animal, who followed his movements by turning slowly. He could try to stamp it, but with that shell, it was hard to tell if that would break the thing’s spine. Picking it up by the tail and shell were risky too, with the claws to worry about. For a second, the turtle slowed just enough for Blaise to plant himself behind it.

In flash, the man stamped the turtle’s shell. One foot pressed hard as he could down onto the turtle’s shell, he grabbed the top half with his hands. He pulled, grunting loudly from the strain as he pulled the plate of bone. He felt it give, and the sound of snapping as he broke the turtle’s shell away from its body, severing its spine and tearing the shell away from the muscle. Blood gushed from the animal as it was paralyzed, but not dead. Blaise still had a battle to fight. He darted down again, holding the thing’s jaws shut, snapping its neck back. Finally, he could feel the life escape out from between his fingers, killing the creature and leaving its body in Blaise’s hands.

Clovis creeped up as his father huffed over the body of the turtle. “What is that thing?” The boy asked. “It looks like a rock with a face and four feet!”

Blaise straightened himself. “It’s a snapping turtle. They’re very, very dangerous. One bite, and they could kill a little hatchling like you. This one could have even killed me, if I weren’t careful.”

The boy batted his eyes slowly. “Killed you? It’s not big enough! A little rock can’t eat you Daddy!”

Blaise grabbed the turtle by the tail, dragging it to the bank. Clovis followed, pattering through the water with his tiny feet. The man sat down, beginning to work of the topmost shell entirely. “No, it couldn’t eat me. But it could have eaten my fingers.” He paused for a moment, sighing from the exertion of pulling at the bone. “It may not seem like it, but we’re not the only meat-eaters in the forest. There are snapping turtles, bears, and cougars. All of them could easily kill any of us and have us for dinner. But,” He took another breath. “The most dangerous thing is disease. There’s nothing we can do to fight it, and no way to know when we’ll get it. But sometimes, bites from things like snapping turtles, even rabbits and squirrels, they can turn diseased, and kill us.”

Clovis kicked a rock into the stream, cheeks puffed out in a pout. “That’s not fair.” He mumbled.

“What’s not fair?” Blaise asked, jerking slightly as he finally freed the shell from the body of the turtle. “Eat up, don’t let it go to waste.” He noted in passing. The boy looked at the exposed flesh of the animal, and turned away.

“Why do we gotsa die? It doesn’t make no sense.” Clovis said, pout in his lip. Blaise sighed through his nose.

“We die because that’s our payment for being alive. In return for all of the good things we get to have in life, when we die, we give up our bodies so that other things can live.” Blaise explained. “Clovis, do you know what happens to things that die of disease, and old age?”

The boy slowly shook his head no. “Nu-uh.”

“Well, if we aren’t eaten, our bodies are broken down. We turn into dirt, and then plants eat the dirt. Then, the deer and rabbits eat the plants, and we eat the rabbits and deer. If it weren’t for death- nobody else could be alive. We give our bodies to the things that are alive, and because of it, our souls are sent to paradise to live without our bodies.”

Clovis cocked his head to the side, slowly reaching out for the carcass of the turtle. “Soul...? What’s that?”

Blaise ripped a hunk of meat from the turtle with his hands. “It’s like air- you can’t see it, but it’s there. Our souls are the things we feel, what we say, and the things that make us alive. The allmother makes our souls, and mothers here in the living world grow bodies around them.

“I don’t get it... So, mommy makes souls?” Clovis asked, his mouth full.

Blaise gulped. “No, but she laid eggs, and your body grew inside of them. One of the gods makes souls, and the other controls the weather, to make sure that living things can thrive in it.” He took another bite. “It’s a lot to take in, you’re young.” Chewing and swallowing, he turned towards the boy. “You’ll learn all about it when we go to live with the other arraneum next year, promise! You’re gonna love it, all of you can make friends, and we won’t have to live out here by ourselves. We’ve just got to make it through the winter, and as soon as Mommy wakes up from her big sleep, we’ll leave.”

“Mm! Are there lots of arraneums there? Are there nagas too?” Clovis asked excitedly. “I wanna go now, when’s winter gonna be over?” He put his hands on Blaise’s leg, hopping excitedly.  

Blaise’s grin softened a bit at the mention of other naga. “Yes, there are a lot of arraneum. But Mommy and your brother and sister are the only nagas we’ll ever meet.”

“Why?” The boy asked, drawling the word on in the way all children had their way of doing. He’d stopped eating now, blood smeared messily on his cheeks. Blaise licked his own thumb, wiping the boy’s face.

“There aren’t any other naga on the mountain. Your mother came here by accident, and now she can’t find her way back home to the other naga.”

“Doesn’t she have a mommy and daddy too? Did they die?” The child interogated, answering every statement with a question.

Blaise swallowed the last bite that he was willing to take. “No. But they’re very, very far away. Mommy loves the three of you so much, because she was taken away from her family when she was just a baby. Now that she has a family again, I think she’s glad.”

“Why did she get taken away?”

Now, Blaise couldn’t help but frown. “Because there are bad things in this world Clovis, just like there are good things. But the gods work in strange ways, and maybe she ended up here, and I left the colony for us to find each other.” He hopped up off of the ground, stretching with an exaggerated groan. “Alright, I’m stuffed. Let’s take what’s left of this little guy back home. It’s time for you to head off to your hammock pretty soon, fuzzball.”

“Nnnn...” Clovis groaned in distaste. “Okay...” He pouted again. Blaise picked up the turtle’s body, carrying the remains over his shoulder. He gave Clovis his other hand, holding it as they crossed the stream to the other bank. Both of them took a moment to shake out their fur, water hitting the ground. Clovis looked up to his father once more. “I think I got it... But Daddy, there’s one thing I don’t get.”

“What’s that?”

“How do Mommies make eggs?”

“That answer will definitely come when you’re older.”

 

Night fell, and the two adults slinked off to leave their sleeping children in the cave. The crunching of leaves seemed louder now as they moved together. “Something wrong?” Louise asked amidst the silence they’d been sharing. “Usually you aren’t the one that pulls me out at night... And it doesn’t seem like you’re in the mood to fuck.”

Blaise chuckled. “You can read me like a book sometimes.” He murmured.

“Woman’s intuition I guess.” Louise replied. “You’ve been acting weird ever since you came back with Clovis earlier.”

“Mhm.” Blaise hummed. “I’ve been thinking a lot. It’s almost autumn. The three of you nagas are going to go to sleep for the winter, and I’m going to have to make sure Clovis makes it through winter. Today he almost got bitten by that snapping turtle and... Gosh, I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to him. I’ve already lost someone to one of those things, I’d hate to lose another.”

Louise cocked her head to the side. “You did? Who?”

“A friend of mine. We were good friends growing up, and he didn’t mind my eyes and ears. A few years before I left the colony, he was bitten by a snapping turtle. It only took one of his fingers, but it started to turn weird colors from disease. It killed him so fast... It’s like he was just gone one day. His name was Parnell.”

“Sounds like he was a good friend.” Louise mused. “I had a friend too, believe it or not. They had an arraneum woman at the circus named Marie. We got out of there together- but halfway through, we were split up. I guess she died somewhere out here, or found that colony of spiderfolk.”

“Was she nice?”

“Biggest, meanest bitch I ever came across.” Louise replied immediately. “But not because she wanted to be. I think she was nice before they threw her into a cage. She got along with me well enough.”

Blaise blinked. “That’s how you knew about us then, you knew another arraneum... I hope she’s okay out there, somewhere.” They came back to the water where Blaise had been with his son earlier. He slowed to a crawl, and stopped. “Clovis asked me about death today, and wanted to know why we die. Usually they don’t start asking until they’re at least a year old.”

“So?” The naga questioned. “Did you tell him?”

“Yeah... But all of this stuff with death and dying, and having to worry about winter coming up... I feel really sad.”

Louise’s shoulders dropped slightly. “Blaise... Don’t make yourself depressed by worrying so much. You’re usually a big ray of sunshine. Clovis didn’t get hurt today, and your friend passed away because it was his time. Chin up.”

Blaise sighed. “I know but-” He gulped. “It’s hard to imagine all of the bad things that can happen! Sure, we’re supposed to die, but I’m so scared of losing any of you. Tomorrow you could fall and hit your head, or a fox could eat one of the hatchlings, even I could suddenly get sick and die. I promised all of you that I’d take you to the other arraneum, I promised that we’ll have a happy life there. What if one of us doesn’t make it?” He took a deep breath, holding in tears.

Louise slithered closer to him. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder, bringing their faces closer together. “I know how you feel. I’m worried too.” She whispered. “But you have to trust that it’s going to be okay. All of us are strong and in good health.”

“But they’re so little...” Blaise sobbed. “I want to protect you guys, I love you.”

The woman’s hands trailed up to his collar, tugging slightly on the necklace resting over his bones. “I love you too. But you can’t let yourself be so upset over things that are up to chance. If I didn’t believe that things could change, I’d still be holed up in that cage.” She put her hands on his face, fingertips resting on the back of his scalp. “If you didn’t believe in me, I’d still be alone and angry at the world. No matter what, we’ll make it to a happy place in the end. I promise.”

Blaise let the tears roll onto Louise’s thumbs. “Thanks...” He breathed. “I’ll try my best.”

Louise nuzzled his face. “That’s all you can do.”

The man’s lips curled into a tiny smile. “You’ve never been hateful. Just a little angry.”

The naga pulled herself away, chuckling. “I think that’s an understatement.” She turned her back to the arraneum, and he followed her. He stepped over her tail, clinging to her from behind. Blaise wrapped his hands around her belly, nose buried in her neck. “Please don’t leave me.” He whispered, weakness back in his voice. “Don’t go to sleep, I need you here with me.”

“You made it last year just fine.”

“Last year I hadn’t fallen in love with you yet.”

Louise was without response. She felt Blaise’s hands wander, gliding across her hips, squeezing the fat beneath her skin. Then they curled around her breasts, warm hands trembling well enough for her to feel. The woman reached back and bent her arm to cup the back of his head.

“I don’t think you’ve come onto me like this before...” She told him, a tone of comfort in her voice. “Will having sex with me make you feel better?”

“I’m not sure what’s going to help. But I want to feel you while you’re still here. Can I?”

The woman guided his face close to hers, twisting enough to nuzzle him. “Of course.”

Blaise could feel Louise’s heart rate pick up speed through her chest while his lips connected with her neck. There was a dizzying rush over his body, enough to make him feel light in the head. He almost toppled on top of the naga, but somehow managed to get both of their bodies on the ground without any major injury. He kissed her face and cheeks, earning them back when he had to pull away to breathe. He could feel Louise’s tail rubbing the underside of his abdomen, hair brushing the scales of her belly.

He pinched the hard nub of Louise’s nipple between his finger and thumb, just enough for her to feel the twinge of pressure. Her tail bumed the underside of him again, eyes fluttering closed. Blaise’s eyes fell on her exposed neck, and he ran his tongue over her throat, teeth grazing the flesh. He could feel her breathing under his jaws. Fast, but entirely lax. He earned an excited trilling sound, along with the feeling of her tail shifting positions beneath him. Blaise gasped as his escaping member was wrapped between scales.

“Is that good?” Louise whispered, one eye open to watch the arraneum’s expression. She had slowly moved her hands from the ground to Blaise’s back, grazing his spine with her nails. The man felt goosebumps run up his arms, and he nodded yes. Louise chuckled beneath her breath, continuing to rub his flesh with the pointed end of her tail. Holding his torso on his elbows, the arraneum lowered himself to pepper her face between kisses for as long as his breath would allow. He could smell the sweat on her, and feel the heated blood in her fingers as they explored his back.

His breath caught a hitch in his throat. “Don’t leave me...” Blaise breathed. The naga paused for a moment, but only moved to pull him closer to her torso.

“I’m not going anywhere.” She replied, voice just as soft. “Are you sure you’re alright? We can stop.”

“I’m okay.” Blaise assured her, kissing her lips again. Then, he moved to nip at the naga’s throat once more. Louise jumped a little bit, but the same grin as she’d had before caused her jaw to drop open. Returning a grin, Blaise playfully bit at the end of her chin. “Just as long as you’re still smiling, it’s all okay.”


	23. Chapter 23

Thunk.

Louise dropped the body of an adolescent deer onto the ground, wiping the sweat from her forehead. “Alright, soup’s on.” She heaved, back popping as she straightened again.

“Who’s on what?” Blaise piped up. He stood balanced on his webs, tattered from where the three children had been recklessly been playing between the threads. While they napped, he had taken the afternoon to patch together the tears. At the base of the tree, a similarly tattered web could be seen strewn across a few branches- not from misuse, but spun from malpractice.

“Food.” Louise responded in translation. Then, she shuddered, rubbing both hands over her arms. “How can you stand it out here? I feel like I’m about to freeze to death!”

“It’s not that cold yet, it’s barely even started to frost.” Blaise told her. He slipped out of his web, sauntering over to the woman. While it wasn’t to the point of bothering him yet, she wasn’t wrong in that the air had gotten much colder. With the leaves already a dark orange color, dripping from the trees, he had to admit that it was frostier than usual for this time of year. That, or the days were moving faster than he could think to process them.

Blaise’s eyes fell on the woman’s body for a moment. Her tail was thick, and her belly rolled over itself in places, sagging over the connection between her flesh and scales. Gorgeous, Blaise thought. But the admiration came paired with the anxiety of losing her.

“Is mommy home yet?” A tiny voice came peeping from the cave. The arraneum turned around to see his daughter standing at the mouth of the cave, rubbing the sleepiness from one eye. Her head perked up at the sight of her mother, and she torpidly slithered into the grass to meet her. She crept to Louise’s side, gracelessly nudging the other naga’s hip with her forehead. She grinned as her hair was ruffled. “Martin n’ Clovis are still seeping.” The toddler yawned.

Louise batted the girl with her tail. “Go wake em’ up, and we’ll eat. Okay?”

“Mhm!” The girl responded, taking back off to rouse her brothers.  

Blaise’s eyes followed the girl until she slipped back into the cave. “...You’ve all been sleeping more.” He murmured, the words escaping from his mouth before his head could stop them. Across from him, Louise sighed through her nose.

“Won’t be long now.” She responded. The woman lowered herself, coiling her tail to pull the deer up into her arms. It was just light enough to heave up into her mouth, allowing her to rip the flesh and expose the meat beneath. Blood ran into the grass, saturating the earth beneath. Louise spat out the fur, muting the sound of pattering footsteps on stone. Clovis bounded out of the cave, his pair of tired siblings close behind.

“A deer!” He chirped, bouncing through the grass. Leaves flew up in the air behind him, settling back down to be crushed under the pair of tails slithering across them. “I’m hungry, let’s eat!” He cantered up to the animal’s body, paused, and then turned to his mother. “Thank you Mommy.” The boy told her first.

Louise tucked a hair behind her ear. “You’re welcome, now eat up.” She told him, waving her hand at the child. Clovis needed no further invitation before messily snarfing at the meat. The other two joined him, and their mother made to as well. She stopped, looking at Blaise. The man had remained still as the others began to eat. The naga cocked her head to the side, as if to silently ask ‘the hell are you doing?’.

Blaise waved his foreleg. “You go on ahead. I’ll wait.” He said. Louise snorted through her nostrils, eyes knitted together irritatedly. The arraneum took a step back as she tore back the flesh on the carcass, using her teeth to pull a hunk from the bones. With the meat hanging over her lips, she slithered past the children and to their father. Blaise choked as the naga forced her thumb into his mouth, pulling his lower jaw  done. With her other hand, she shoved the food between his teeth.

Blaise shuddered as the lukewarm meat was forcibly slid onto his tongue, his jaw snapped shut by Louise’s hand. He swallowed, his face growing hot with embarrassment. “Sorry.” He muttered under his breath.

“I didn’t kill that thing to watch you go hungry.” The naga’s stern expression melted back into a grin. “But don’t apologize. I know you’re just trying to think about the rest of us.” She gave the man a firm pat across the shoulderblades. “There’s plenty to go around. Enjoy it while you can,furball.”

Taking tiny steps forward, Blaise gave a meek nod. “Alright.”

He knelt down to eat, Louise settling beside him. Blaise felt the end of her tail coil around his back leg, and he couldn’t help but grin. The silent ‘I love you’ was enough to make him smile.

 

 

 

...

 

Blaise fingered his necklace, rubbing the strands of thread and web between his forefinger and thumb. It was dusk, and the children had gone to bed without having to be put there. Not even Clovis seemed to be able to stay awake, his sleeping schedule linked with his siblings. While they were curled up in their hammocks, their mother fluffed out the nest. She placed furs and pieces of old web along the edges of the bedding, tossing the pelts around to soften them. The arraneum watched her in silence, observing the sleepiness that weighed down her eyelids.

“It’s been at least a year now, huh?”

Blaise perked up as the words were spoken. “A year since what?”

“Since we bumped into each other out in that field.”

“Yeah. It has.” The man agreed. It seemed like so much longer, but it had only been just more than a year.

“A lot’s happened, hasn’t it?” Louise asked, turning over a raccoon skin with her tail. She picked it up and shook out the dust. “When I ran out into these woods that night, I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life alone. I didn’t expect any of this.”

Blaise chuckled under his breath. “I thought the same thing when I left the other arraneum. I’m starting to realize how much of an idiot I am. I gave up so much, and then there are people like you who don’t have anything.”

Louise placed the skin back down, moving to another. “Well thank the gods that they made you into a moron. If you hadn’t left, I may not even be alive.” She plucked a twig out of the nest, flicking out to the other side of the cave. “I never thought about falling in love, or having kids, or going to a place where people will accept me again. And if I had them, I didn’t think they’d make me happy. I still have the scars to haunt me, regardless.” She continued.

The arraneum nodded silently.

Louise gave the bedding one more fluff. She straightened her back, and turned to Blaise. “Thank you for finding me.”

The man blinked slowly. He watched Louise slither closer to him, lowering her body down to the stone. Blaise’s chest grew warm at the core. “I’m glad that I found you.” He replied, feeling lips press to his. He kissed the woman back, the connection fleeting. He felt his necklace shift, the bones tied in tickling his skin.

Just as Louise had started to curl around his legs, their intimate bubble was broken. The woman’s ears flicked up at the sound of heavy breathing in the back of the cave. Blaise stood as the scales wrapped around him left. Louise slithered to the back of the cave, where the breathing turned into grunts and whimpers.

The man could see his daughter flailing weakly in her bed, fighting off something in her dreams. Louise shook the girl gently, her ears pinned down with worry. “Rosalie, wake up. Get up.” She whispered, trying to rouse the girl from her nightmare.

The child woke with a gasp, eyes shooting open. She trembled, head turning back and forth to register where she was. Rosalie hiccuped, grabbing onto Louise’s arm. She wiped her face against her mother’s skin, tears bubbling out and onto her cheeks. “I had a bad dream.” She whined, sleepy and upset. Blaise walked over as well, reaching out to pat the girl’s head.

“What did you dream about?” He asked in a gentle voice. Meanwhile, Louise picked the girl up and held her to her chest. The toddler continued to cry for a moment, wiping at her eyes with her hands.

“I dreamed that I was being eated...” She whimpered.  “Something ate me, and it ate you and mommy and clovis n’ martin...” Rosalie sniffled. “I’m scared, I don’t want nobody to die, I don’t want to go sleep and never wake up. Mommy said I’m gonna go to sleep for a long time soon, I don’t wanna!”

Blaise watched the child continue to cry, and Louise’s eyes showed that she felt like doing the same. His stomach turned, and he didn’t know what to say, or how to help his daughter. He wasn’t a naga, how was he supposed to help? The speechless arraneum turned as Louise moved to the other end of the cave, where Rosalie’s cries wouldn’t wake the two boys. Slowly, he followed.

“Don’t cry, it’s alright.” Louise whispered to the girl. “Going to sleep for the winter isn’t any different from sleeping normally. You’ll wake up in spring and never realized that you weren’t awake.”

“Daddy will know, Clovis is gonna know, they’re gonna be sad!” Rosalie protested. “I don’t wanna make them sad, it’s not fair.”

Louise’s mouth curled into a frown. “I know it isn’t. But it’s alright, they’re arraneum- and arraneums are tough enough to survive winter, not like us. They’ll be just fine without us for awhile.” She assured the girl. But Rosalie continued to cry, her tired head too shaken up by her bad dreams to calm down. Carrying her out into the dark, Louise sat on the fallen tree with the girl. Blaise shyly waited at the mouth of the cave, waiting to be called on for help.

The naga sighed, rubbing her daughter’s back. “It’s gonna be alright.” She whispered over and over. Finally, she had to hold the girl out slightly, looking down into her tear-stained face. “Listen, I don’t have the best set of pipes, but I can sing you a lullaby if it’ll help you sleep.”

Rosalie sniffled. “What’s that?”

“It’s something I learned how to do when I was younger. But I’ve heard that they help people sleep.” She explained. Across the way, Blaise’s ears perked up, and he held one leg off the ground at attention. A lullaby was something that he hadn’t heard of, and from how she put it, it was some kind of human behavior that Louise had picked up.

Louise opened her mouth, and a strange sound came out. Blaise froze in place as the noise drifted through the air into his ears. The naga spoke, but in a drawn out and entrancing way that had Blaise’s heart beating hard against his ribs. The syllables flowed out of her lips and into his ears, and she twisted them with her tongue in a way could only be compared to an orgasm to the mind. Every hair on his body stood on end, goosebumps prickling the skin. He wanted to call out, but he was entranced, hypnotized by the sound. Needless to say, so was Rosalie, who’s head began to bob up and down. Louise wiped away the tears still clinging to her cheeks, easing her eyes closed with her spell.

The sound stopped, the child in Louise’s arms sound asleep. The naga cleared her throat, carefully standing again. Blaise’s head rotated, following her as she moved past him. He blinked dumbly, mouth hanging open. He gawked as the woman tucked her daughter back into bed. Louise turned back around, and stopped at the sight of the arraneum staring at her from the mouth of the cave.

“What?” She asked. Approaching Blaise again, her scales audibly slid across the stone. When she was within arm’s reach, her cheeks were squished together by Blaise’s hands. The man pressed his thumbs into her cheeks and ran them over her lips as if he were blind.

“Is that magic?” Blaise asked, breathless.

The naga narrowed her eyes. “Magic? It wasn’t that hard to get her to sleep, I mean-”

“No, What you did with your mouth. You made those words sound so... I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s like you were using some kind of magic.” Blaise’s eyes sparkled with awe, rubbing Louise’s face as if to feel for traces of pixie dust.

“You mean singing....?” Louise asked, voice low. “Don’t arraneum sing? Haven’t you ever heard a song or a lullaby before?”  

Blaise shook his head. “No, I’ve never. Is it hard to do? Are you tired?” Blaise moved his hands from her face to rest on her forearms.

“No, it’s just as easy as regular talking.” Louise chuckled along with her explanation. “If anything, music is a good thing I learned about.” Her eyelids drooped down lower, and she pulled herself in closer. “I think I might have made myself sleepy too.”

The arraneum nodded, bringing his arms to rest on her back. “Yeah. You caught that deer today, it would’ve tired me out too.” He pulled the exhausted woman back towards their bed, moving along in tandem with her. She parted from him, sliding into the nest and throwing a fur over her shoulder. Blaise circled around a few times, then settled in beside Louise. He nuzzled her face with his cheek.

“Have I told you how amazing you are?” He mumbled the question under his breath. Louise nudged him back, eyes hardly open.

“A few minutes ago.” She told him groggily. “You haven’t told me that you love me yet today though. It’d be nice to hear.”

The arraneum grinned, swivelling his head just enough to rub their noses together. “I love you very much, Louise.”

The woman hummed, and her eyes fell closed. “Love you too... See you in the morning.”

“Mm. Goodnight.” Blaise let his head rest against the bed, letting the sound of Louise’s breath lull him to sleep. The sound of music swam in his ears.

 

...

 

Louise never woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaa kind of a bittersweet chapter.


	24. Chapter 24

“What are we gonna do without her?”

Blaise’s gaze wandered away from where it had been resting on Louise’s body. It landed on Clovis, who had his hands planted on his mother’s tail. After several minutes of fruitlessly trying to wake her, the boy looked up to his father with a face that was riddled with uncertainty. Blaise replied with a heavy sigh, emptiness weighing his shoulders down. “Exactly what we’d do any other day, just without Mommy.” He said, directing the statement to all three of the toddlers. The children stared up at him, shocked and lost as he was.  

“But she’s always here...” Rosalie muttered, teary-eyed.

“It’ll be fine. You two will be asleep soon yourselves, and then winter will come and go for me n’ your brother. She was just extra sleepy this year.” Her father answered. The man had to grit his teeth and curl back his lips into an empty grin. He wanted to be the one to try and shake Louise awake in denial, to cry, to beg for her to wake up, even if for moment. But now there was no choice but to lock his emotions in his gut, painting on a mask to keep his children’s hope strong. He used his forelegs to scoot them away from Louise’s body, covering the woman’s torso with a deer skin. He frowned with his face turned from them, tightening his quivering lip.

“Anyway, let’s go outside and get some fresh air! All this means it’s going to get colder soon, so let’s enjoy ourselves while it’s still warm!” He threw on a grin, planting both hands on his hips and puffing his chest out. The tiny arraneum jumped up as if his worries had been sapped away. Rosalie nodded, and Martin’s head bobbed in a drowsy daze.

“Daddy, I’m still sleepy. Can I go back to bed? I don’t wanna go outside.” The naga asked, rubbing his half-lidded eyes. Blaise rubbed the top of his head, earning a grin from the boy.

“Sure. If you wake up and get hungry, we can go fishing together. ‘Kay?”

“Mkay Daddy...” Martin yawned, forked tongue rolling out of his mouth. The child slithered back to his hammock, pulling himself back up and into his bed. Martin’s brother turned around after him, following the naga to his bed.

“Martin, you can’t go to sleep yet! Come outside and play with me and Rosalie!” The other boy demanded, wiggling the hammock. Martin turned his back to the other child, waving his hand.

“Nu-uh... I’ll play later, I’m sleepy.” The naga muttered, curling up around himself. He hid his face away from the other boy, closing him off. Clovis huffed indignantly, turning away and prancing off with his nose held high.

“Fine, we’ll have more fun while you’re asleep!”

“Clovis!” Blaise snapped. The boy jumped at the crack of his father’s voice. Slowly, his head sank down, ears pinned down in a guilty stance. “Don’t bother your brother- he’s a naga, and he needs his rest more than anything right now. Tell him you’re sorry, and don’t be so mean.”

Clovis kicked up dust with two of his legs. He wrung his hands together behind his back, dragging himself back to where his brother slept. “I’m sorry Martin... I didn’t mean to yell at you.” He mumbled with his tongue in his cheek. There was no response, and the boy blinked. “He’s already asleep...” He said, turning back to Blaise.

“That’s fine, just let him know when he wakes up.” The larger arraneum replied. “C’mon now, it’s a pretty day out.” He led his children out, the wind sending autumn leaves flying through the air. The trees would soon be naked, and invite snow to weigh down their branches. Blaise pulled down the remainder of the deer from a web pouch, and the three ate. None of them spoke, the voice that would have broken the silence laid to rest.

 

...

 

Martin didn’t wake up.

That night, after putting a weeping Rosalie and Clovis to bed, Blaise slinked off and shed the tears that he’d been hiding. He left a stick lying on the ground with tooth marks born into it, the wood taking the brunt of the pain in Blaise’s chest, and silencing any sobs that tried to bubble from his throat. There was no way that he could cry in front of Clovis and Rosalie now- it would break the hopes that they had left. Being strong was hard. Being a father was hard. There was no other path but for Blaise to shoulder the burden of three hearts alone.

 

...

 

Blaise woke with his shoulders being shaken, a voice penetrating the sound of his own dreams. “Get up!” A voice chirped, ringing in his ears. The man opened his eyes, staring straight into the nostrils of his son. He blinked, groaned, and pulled his torso up onto his elbows.

“Clovis... What is it? It’s early.” He griped, wiping his eyes. The child jumped up and down, pointing to the mouth of the cave and stumbling over his own words. Hardly able to understand his son’s excited chatter, he turned and looked out for himself. Vision focusing, he realized that the grass had been coated in a thin layer of frost and snow.

The man stood up, careful not to step on Louise’s comatose body on the way. Rosalie stood halfway to the opening, quickly crowding under Blaise’s abdomen as he walked past. He noted that she was almost too tall of fit beneath him anymore.

“What is that stuff?” The asked, head poking out from under her father’s leg. Outside, the flakes of snow were still falling, drifting silently to the ground. Louise and Martin’s bodies hadn’t been wrong in shutting down- winter had come fast. It felt like autumn had just come and gone in a day. The children, hid beneath Blaise with furs tied around their shoulders, intimidated by the mysterious snowflakes. The arraneum held his hand out, snow landing and melting on the tip of his finger.

“It’s snow. Soon, the whole forest will be covered in this stuff.” Blaise explained. Slowly, the toddlers peeked their heads out, approaching the edge of the cave. Clovis was the first to step out, daring to walk on the cold ground. He bent over, touching the fluffy substance. He jumped as it became water on his fingers, skittering back into the cave.

“It turned into water!” The boy peeped.

“Well, snow is just very cold rain. When you touch it, it’ll turn back into water again.” Blaise explained to his son. “It’s very cold, so don’t play with it too much. It’ll make your hands sore.”

“Okay...” The boy responded, staring down at his wet fingers. Rosalie still stood at the end of the cave. Resisting her own curiosity, she refused to slither out into the snow. Instead, she turned to her father, balling her fist in his fur.

“Daddy, I’m hungry.” She told him. “Can we go hunting?”

Blaise tapped her head with his foreleg. “Leave it to me for today. You two stay in here where it’s warm. When I get back, I’ll start making a web to keep some of the wind out. That way it won’t be so chilly.” He instructed. Blaise passed the two of them by, moving back to where Louise and Martin slept to grab a fur. He’d moved Martin from his hammock to lie curled up by his mother, still but for his breath. He turned back towards the mouth of the cave, tying his makeshift cloak together with a strand of web.

As he came back to where the two children stood, Blaise rubbed both of them on the head. “I’ll be right back.” He told them, stepping out into the snow-dusted forest. He wandered out into the cold, wondering where he could find food. The fish had long since emptied out of the stream, birds had flown away, and the deer were all hidden away and huddled together. Something would come along.

He hunkered down into the grass, pressing his body to the freezing ground. He waited, the minutes dragging on, each slower than the last.  The forest was entirely encapsulated in silence, not a living creature within earshot. Now Blaise’s stomach was growling. Briefly, he considered moving to another spot to try and hunt there. He wished that Louise would wake up, what was he supposed to do? Go home empty handed? That wasn’t an option. He would let himself go hungry for a while, but he couldn’t stand the thought of the children going without eating.

There was a shift in the grass, and his ears perked up. Blaise watched the grass continue to tremble at the tips. He jumped straight for the trail of movement, pouncing on a... A mouse. Just a mouse, easily killed by the press of his thumb to its neck. As its warm, lifeless body sat in his hand, Blaise wanted to cry. For now, this was all that he could do.

He sniffled, wiped his eyes, and turned back towards home with the rodent’s corpse clenched in his fist.

Blaise felt like the walk home went on for miles. He tried to tell himself that he could just go hunting again later, but the thought did little to assure him. A horrible feeling twisted his gut, like he’d failed in some way. He had to do better than this if he wanted to make it through, if he wanted Clovis to make it through.

The stone was cold on his feet as he returned to the cave. Clovis and Rosalie napped side-by-side, breathing quietly. Blaise took a deep breath, and tapped them both on the shoulder. “I’m home.” He stated, only loud enough to wake them. The knot in his gut grew tighter, tension spreading from his belly to his chest.

Rosalie’s head popped up, and she blinked slowly. Clovis followed, yawning, and crawling out of his web hammock. “What’d ya catch Daddy?” The boy asked, standing at his father’s heel with a sleepy expression.

Blaise looked down at his hand, opening it to reveal the flattened mouse. “...Just this.” He held it out, heart sinking. “I’ll have to go hunting again later. Most of the animals are hiding right now. You two eat.”

The pair looked up to their father, blinking silently. The arraneum stared back down and them, a pained grin tugging his lips. He watched Rosalie snatch the mouse out of his hand, then gasped as he chomped down.

“Hey-” The man protested. But he choked, cut off by the sight of his daughter spitting half of the mouse’s body back into her hand. Another bite, and the head was cut loose, spat messily back into her hand. Rosalie gave one piece of the body to her brother, and she reached up to give her father the other.

“You didn’t catch it to go hungry, Daddy.” She insisted, pushing the scrap of food into Blaise’s hand. She patted the back of the larger arraneum’s palm. “It’s ok, sometimes I don’t catch anything big too.” The girl paused, smiling up at her father.

Blaise gulped. He still wanted to cry, but he swallowed it down, taking the mouse’s head with a smile. “Thank you, Rosalie.” He managed to tell her.

Clovis looked down at the meat his palm, then to his father. “Thank you Daddy, you’re the one that caught it.”

The larger arraneum nodded, and sat down. The three ate, picking what they could from the bones. Blaise gulped down everything he could, chewing on cartilage until it was soft enough to swallow. It didn’t leave him full, or even any less hungry, but it was something.

Picking the last string of meat from the tiny skull, Blaise heard shuffling against the ground. Rosalie had placed her bones in a neat pile, and was making way for the nest. She skipped her hammock, choosing instead to curl up by the other nagas. Blaise stood up, following her to the side of the bedding. He watched the little girl’s eyes open and close slowly, tail functioning as a pillow.

Blaise reached down, petting the girl’s hair. “Tired?” He asked, rubbing his thumb across her forehead. Rosalie nodded. Meanwhile, Clovis slowly crawled up beside them, leaning against his father’s foreleg. The man looked to him for a moment, and then back to the girl. “You should go to sleep. It’s cold, and nagas shouldn’t be awake.”

“I don’t wanna...” The girl protested.

“It’ll be alright. I promise.” He assured her.

Rosalie’s mouth opened to answer. But, along with her eyes, it came back down to a close.

Clovis pulled at Blaise’s leg. “Daddy, is Rosalie gonna wake up?” He asked. The man moved to pet his head this time.

“I don’t think so. It’s too cold now, she’ll get sick if she doesn’t go to sleep.” Blaise was only mid-sentence by the time tears started forming in Clovis’ eyes. The child hiccupped, sobbing loud enough for the sound to bounce off of the walls of the cave. His father nudged him in closer, letting the drum of his leg be curled around.

“It’s not fair!” Clovis wept. “I hate it, I hate, it I hate it! I want my brother, I want my sister, I want Mommy to wake up and talk to me again!” He continued to wail, hiccuping and coughing loudly between words. His tiny body trembled with sobs against Blaise’s, face contorted with agony from the heart.

Blaise picked the boy up, saying nothing as he pulled him to let his head sit on his shoulder. He didn’t want his son to see his own crying face. “It’s okay, they’ll wake up again.” He said, half to convince himself. He continued to whisper assurances to Clovis, quieting his distressed wails until they faded into whimpers. Weakly, the boy clung to him. A combination of an empty stomach and a half hour of crying tired his small body.

“Daddy... When’s winter gonna be over?” He breathed. “I wanna see Mommy again.”

“It’ll be over before you know it. When spring comes, all of us will move, and we’ll go live with the other arraneum. That way you’ll never have to be lonely during the winter.” Blaise cooed. His cheeks were stained with the trails of dried tears. “Maybe someday Mommy and I will make some more children together, and then you can play with them too.”

“That sounds fun... I wanna meet other arraneums.” Clovis mumbled. “More brothers n sisters are nice, but I like the ones I gots now.”

“Mhm. It’s all going to be alright.”

“Daddy?”

“Mm?” Blaise stood, taking the boy to his bed. He lay Clovis on his back, stomach and abdomen exposed. He took the fur cloak tied around his torso and covered him with it.

“My tummy hurts.” The child admitted, hiding half of his face beneath the fur.

Blaise felt a sharp pang of guilt in his gut. “I’ll go out right now and look for something else to eat. Just get some more rest. Arraneum have to sleep a lot too during winter, you know.”

With a silent nod of his head, Clovis’ eyes fluttered shut. Blaise pulled another fur to shield him from the wind out of bed. The snow was coming down harder now, enough to promise a thin sheet by the following morning. Returning into the freezing cold, Blaise looked up into the grey sky.

He wondered if the gods were watching him fight for his life in the face of winter. Maybe the cloud cover kept them from seeing at all.

“Please have mercy on him.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please remember to subscribe and leave kudos~


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for a bit of vomiting in this chapter ^0^/

Winter settled in fast. The dormant tree branches curled beneath the weight of the snow, and the grass had vanished beneath the suffocating white blanket. Every so often, a bird would chirp in the distance, a straggler amongst all of the others that had left for winter. But the forest was quiet, the song of the birds and chirping of the crickets replaced with the dull howl of the wind. The breeze itself felt motionless without any leaves to ruffle as it passed. By now an entire month had come and gone since the last of the three naga had gone to sleep.

Clovis’ feet made crunching noises in the snow in patterns of eight. The boy sauntered alongside his father, traipsing through the man’s footprints as he made them. He trailed a piece of fur behind him, his small body wrapped from head to toe in pelts. Blaise walked slowly so that the boy could keep up with him, making sure that the boy didn’t get detached from him. They moved wordlessly, knowing that any excess noise could ruin their chances of finding a meal.

Blaise felt a tug at his leg. He looked down, and saw the motion of Clovis’ hand. The boy pointed to a blemish in the snow not far off, what looked like a small clod of dirt. Drawing closer to the object, the arraneum quickly identified it as shit. But, the filthy substance wasn’t complete without a trail of raccoon tracks leading away from it. The man nodded at his son, motioning for him to follow by kicking his middle leg forward. Clovis caught up, moving in front of him as he stalked the line of tracks.

Creeping along, the two followed the beeline of footprints. They led to a dead tree, complete with a hole just big enough to hide a sleeping raccoon. Blaise pointed at the tree, and then made a circling motion. Finally, he pointed to his spinnerets, signing for Clovis to spin a web over the hole. The child nodded, curling up into a crouch.

Slowly, the child crept up to the hollow trunk. He circled around the perimeter of it, examining the body for more holes. Assured that the raccoon had no other means of escape- he began to climb up the side of the tree, using the claws in his feet to hold his body upright. Inch by inch, he snaked his way up to the hole. He pulled a strand of web from his body, using his legs to plant it. The process wasn’t easy- there was no telling if the raccoon was asleep, awake, or if it was even in there at all. It could even come bounding out to attack the boy- but this was the only chance the pair arraneum had at eating.

Clovis paused. Then, he began to descend the tree once more. The net could have been tighter, but it would be enough to ensnare the animal when it came bounding out of its nest. Once the boy had returned to the ground, Blaise motioned for him to stay put. Then, the man positioned himself at the tree’s trunk, turning his back to it. In one motion, he reared up, smashing the tree with his back legs. Repeatedly he crashed against the tree, shards of bark flying off of it and out into the snow.

As he’d hoped- an animal came barreling out of the hole, never noticing Clovis’ web in its frenzy. It tumbled to the ground, squeaking and flailing the snow, only drawing the webs tighter around its body. Blaise raised himself onto his back legs this time, hurling his forelegs onto the animal. While it was stunned from the stamping, the man flew to the ground, sinking his teeth into the throat of the animal. It screamed, the cry of death echoing through the hollow forest. The animal’s shriek faded as its body died, twitching, then flopping lifelessly to the ground.

“We did it!” Clovis cried out. “We caught it, we get to eat today, woohoo!” He jumped up in excitement, running around the tree trunk with his abdomen waggling back and forth the whole way.

Blaise pulled himself back up again, wiping his mouth. He grinned down at the boy, catching him just long enough to pat him on the head. “We did! Thank you so much for helping me, I never could have done it without you.” He praised the child for his good work. Then, he turned and lifted the raccoon off of the ground. “Let’s go home, there’s no point in standing out here in the cold anymore.” The man slung the animal’s carcass across his shoulder, and then reached out to take Clovis’ hand. His son beamed, reaching up to hold his father’s fingers in his tiny palm.

They moved forward, guided by their own tracks. Every now and then, Clovis would pause and shake the snow out of his fur, then keep moving along. Blaise gazed at the child for a moment, examining his belly and cheeks. Still plump as they should have been for a hatchling his age. “Clovis, how’s your tummy?” He asked.

The boy hummed. “It’s better today. It’s been hurting for a couple’ve days, but today I think I feel better!” He chirped. “I think I’ll be ok when I eat! I’m so hungry, I could- I could eat a big whole deer I bet!”

Blaise chuckled. “We’ll have to see about that when spring comes back around, won’t we?” He teased. His smile fell into a more distant expression, eyes focused up on the path ahead of them. The snow was starting to make his skin burn.

Together they crawled through the web funnel the Blaise had installed at the mouth of the cave. It couldn’t keep the cold from seeping in, but it kept the wind out, and that’s what mattered. The pair of arraneum huddled together in the nest of furs, the space cramped with the three comatose bodies occupying it as well. Blaise lifted the creature to his mouth; using his teeth to tear open the stomach of the animal. He was pleased to note that the animal was fat as could be. He sat it back down onto the stone, letting it bleed out onto the floor.

Beside him, Clovis was close to shaking with excitement. The man chuckled, motioning his hand towards the raccoon. “Go on and eat, you don’t have to wait up on me.” He told the boy. Clovis immediately dug into the meat, ripping it out with his fangs and snarfing loudly. Blaise did the same, carefully ripping flesh from the animal. He chewed, blissful goosebumps crawling underneath his skin as the food slithered down his throat.

After a few minutes of eating in silence, Blaise noticed Clovis stop. He blinked, watching the boy set aside a half-eaten piece of meat. “Are you done already?” He asked the child.

Clovis nodded. “My tummy hurts, I can’t eat no more.” He mumbled. The child rubbed at his stomach, an uncomfortable expression settling on his face. Blaise gulped, and rubbed the crown of his son’s head.

“That’s ok. I’ll wrap it up and we can have the rest later.” He cooed to the boy. “Why don’t you go lie down? You’ll feel better if you rest.” He suggested. Blaise watched Clovis nod his head slowly, crawling a few feet to curl up by his mother’s sleeping body. His father watched him, eyes appearing strained, then closing. He stepped over to pat the boy’s back, and then returned to his meal.

Soon his stomach was too tense to keep on eating. With a quiet sigh through his nose, Blaise pulled himself up. He turned, using his legs to begin laying a net of webs over the animal’s remains. After the carcass had been secured inside of the sticky net, Blaise tip-toed out of the nest and towards the cave’s exit. He carried the leftovers outside, hanging them high up in the trees. If there was anything good about winter, it was that the chill kept meat edible for at least a day more than in summer. The wind rolled through, moaning as it brushed the tree trunks. Then, moaning louder, and... whining?

Blaise turned back towards the cave, stepping quickly through the snow. He crawled through the network of webs and back onto the stone. He was met with the sound of tiny sobs, whining and groaning between them. Clovis had gotten up again, and had begun to clutch at his stomach with teary eyes.

“Clovis!” Blaise called out, skittering over to the boy. “What’s wrong, why are you crying?”

The boy sobbed again. “It hurts!” He cried. “My tummy hurts, it hurts really bad!” Clovis continued, holding onto his stomach. Blaise felt his heart drop, and he scooped the boy up into his arms.

“Don’t cry, crying will just make it hurt more.” Blaise told him. “It’ll be alright, it’s gonna stop hurting soon.” He anxiously rubbed his son’s back, heart beating hard against his chest. Clovis continued to wail, crying over and over about his stomach and how bad it was hurting him. Blaise couldn’t think of what to do or how to help, and it made him want to break down as well. What was he supposed to do? His son was sick, and there was nobody that he could turn to for help.

The boy cried and couldn’t be consoled. Blaise was certain that he passed out from the exhaustion rather than actually falling asleep. The boy’s head lay against his shoulder, and he could feel the heat of fever on his cheeks. The man wiped tears from the child’s face.

“Please be okay... You’re going to get better real soon, I promise.” He told the child, despite his inability to hear him. Though his son was already wrapped in fur clothing, he put him to bed and covered him in more. He circled around the boy in his anxiety, watching over him with horrified eyes. What was he going to do, he thought over and over in his head. He wished that Louise was here, or awake, so she could offer some kind of advice.

Finally he had to stop and rest. He knelt down next to the boy, bending over to kiss his fevered forehead. As he lay down, he made sure to tuck the boy between two of his legs, somewhat assured that he may begin to feel better there.

He sat with his eyes open for a long time. The sun began to set, the white forest becoming orange and grey. The sun sank below the horizon, and with it Blaise’s eyelids closed as well.

 

....

 

The following morning was cold. Clovis opened his eyes, shivering beneath the layers of clothing and fur that his father had lain over his tiny body. The child grunted, pulling the blanket around him with trembling fingers. “Hurts...” He breathed, the fire in his stomach still bubbling. All his tired mind could process was the pain, and the need to relieve himself.

With some effort,Clovis was able to pull himself away from his sleeping father and the bed. He shivered while making the journey through the webs and into the outside world. The slight breeze caused his entire body to shudder, but he pressed on past the ghosts of bushes that had been there in summer. He felt some sense of relief as he was able to empty his body of waste, and picked up his head. With a little more pep in his step, he made way towards the mouth of the cave once more.

Half way, his head panged with dizziness, and his stomach lurched. The boy wretched, holding onto his belly. His vision went double- he could barely see the vomit on the ground as it left him. He wanted to cry, opening his mouth to call out to his father. He became dizzy again, falling to the frozen ground. Everything became dark, and he lay there, being consumed by the snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :O


	26. Chapter 26

Blaise turned over. Along the way he collided with Louise’s hip, accidentally knocking his shoulder against her. Both eyes creeping open, he squinted against the morning light. The man’s head throbbed with dull pain, and he blinked to try and moisten his eyes. Pushing himself up onto his elbows, Blaise swivelled his head around slowly.  “...Clovis? Where’d you go?” He inquired with a crack in his voice. Quietly, he cleared his throat. The man stood, curling back and extending his legs out to stretch. Mouth opening wide, he yawned into the echo of his own voice on the walls. The wind groaned. “Clovis?”

No answer.

Blaise turned around, circling himself and the bedding in search for his son. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for him to realize that Clovis wasn’t in the cave. He had to have gone out to relieve himself, he thought. There was a bladder full of water in the cave, and he would have woken Blaise up if hungry. But surely he would have been back by now? The arraneum crawled towards the cavern mouth, pulling his body through the web tunnel.

“Clovis? Where are you?” He called again. Then, he stopped. Blaise did a double take, rubbing his eyes to be sure that they weren’t lying to him. He examined the clearing again. His gaze fell on the child’s body. Clovis lay in the snow, fur speckled with white powder, face sitting in half-frozen vomit. He didn’t move, and from so far away, Blaise couldn’t even see if he was breathing.

He’s dead, Blaise thought.

But slowly, before the man could react, Clovis moaned. His father inhaled, gasping for breath as he ran to the boy. Scooping him up, Blaise hastily brushed away the snow that had collected in his son’s fur. He cradled the boy in his arms and watched the his eyes creep open. They blinked, and the child’s hand quivered while he made to clutch his stomach. “Hurts... It still hurts...” His moans rattled out of his throat.

Blaise turned around, hurriedly fleeing back into the cave. He held Clovis tight to his chest, moving him inside. As his son’s head rolled to rest against his chest, Blaise felt that it might melt through his skin. He returned to the nest, pulling the biggest fur he could immediately find off of the floor. He bundled Clovis in the pelt to secure him in its warm fibers, far from where the cold could bite him. Then, he sat him back down by the end of his mother’s tail, retrieving the pouch of water.

“It’s going to be okay, don’t worry.” He said, revealing more of his anxiety through his voice than he would have liked. “But if you want to feel better, you’re going to have to drink lots of water okay? It helps if you drink lots of water.”

Clovis raised his head. “It does? Will it make it stop hurting?” He croaked, a twinge of hope just audible in his voice. He tried to pull himself up, falling back down again with a surprised ‘oof’. Blaise bent down to grab him, helping the boy to sit upright. .Then, he grabbed the bag of water once more, barely loosening it to hold up against Clovis’ lips. The child raised his hands, holding the spout of the pouch, drinking from it. Moving too fast, he stopped and coughed. Blaise pulled the bladder back. He knelt, abdomen prickling as it touched the stone.

For a few moments, Clovis was able to sit and wipe off his wet face. He pulled the fur tighter against him, fevered body surely feeling much more frozen than the snow could have made it. He opened his mouth with a tiny smile, and Blaise grinned back, but as the boy made to speak a choked sound erupted from his throat. His grin had morphed into a grimace, and he choked again, gagging.

“Clovis!” Blaise gasped as his son wretched, curling over to grab his belly. Clovis vomited, sobbing between the convulsions of his gut. His father froze, scrambling for some thought of how he was supposed to help, how was he even meant to react. He reached out, rubbing the distressed child’s back while he tried to stop his empty belly from spasming.

Clovis sat up, tears bubbling out of his eyes and lips dripping with bile. He wailed, and Blaise jumped to pull up a scrap pelt, wiping his face clean. He picked the child up again, shushing drowned out by the toddler’s screams.  His gut clenched, as did his hands around Clovis’ body.

“It hurts, it hurts it hurts!” The child screeched. “Make it stop, please make it stop Daddy!” He wept, weakly kicking his legs. Blaise held him done, shushing even louder.

“Don’t cry, it’ll hurt more if you’re crying like this.” Blaise told him. “You need to calm down. You’re just a little sick. People throw up all the time, I’ve thrown up before. If you don’t let your body rest and get better, then you’ll just get even more sick.” He said, pulling the boy back to wipe his tears. “It’s all going to be okay. C’mere, let’s try drinking some more water, but only a little bit at a time.” He instructed. His voice remained soothing, but inside, Blaise’s heart kicked repeatedly against the back of his ribs.

He eased Clovis down once more, keeping him away from where he’d emptied his stomach. He covered the boy in skins, rubbing them against his body to generate more warmth. The he grabbed the abandoned water pouch, urging the child to drink again. This time his son drank slowly, taking a sip at a time until satiated. Then, instead of tossing what he’d drank back up, he nestled into the bed.

“That feels better.” He mumbled. Clovis yawned, batting his eyes as drowsiness threatened to take them over.  “Daddy, I’m sleepy again... Can I go back to sleep?” Asking his father was useless however, as his body was much too tired to keep going on.

Blaise stroked the top of the boy’s head, rubbing so that the hairs were left displaced. “Of course. Rest up as much as you can. That’ll make you feel all better in no time. If you get hungry, there’s still food outside from yesterday.”

Eyes closing, Clovis let his head sink against the bed. “But... Aren’t you gonna eat Daddy?” He breathed.

The boy’s father shook his head. “No, not yet. I’m not hungry.”

One eye cracked open, Clovis grunted. “You gotsa eat, or you can’t see Mommy again when spring comes. You gotta...”

“Shush now, don’t worry about me. Daddy can take care of himself, I’ve been through lots of winters all by myself. We’ll see Mommy when she wakes up again, don’t you worry.” Blaise cooed. He stroked Clovis’ head, feeling that the head had somewhat dissipated from the nauseating warmth of his forehead earlier.

Pulling his hand away, Blaise reached for another scrap piece of fur where he could find it lying around. Pulling a tattered skin from the ground, he moved to clean up the vomit. Until now he’d been too preoccupied to think about it, but now the smell was creeping into his nostrils. His stomach turned in disgust, jumping into his throat as his gaze met the source of the stench. Strings of blood were set in the vomit, thinned down with water, but shimmering menacingly in the light regardless. Blaise gulped.

He turned to his son. “...Clovis, are you asleep yet?”

“Nuh-uh....” Clovis whispered. He didn’t open his eyes, still set on the path towards slumber.

“You...” Blaise paused. “You know I love you, right?”

“Mhm... I love you too, Daddy.” Came the tiny reply.

Blaise swallowed tears. “Good. I just want you to know.”

With Clovis unresponsive, he assumed that he’d fallen asleep for certain. Blaise sniffled, bending over to mop up the blood-streaked bile from the bold floor. He didn’t know what to do but feel sad, and feel scared, and just try to make Clovis comfortable if he could. He couldn’t die. There was no way. He couldn’t go to Louise in the spring and tell her that he’d been the one to be so careless as to let their son die, it wasn’t an option.

He pulled up the sopping wet pelt, tip-toeing away. He held the cloth between his forefinger and thumb by the one clean corner, keeping it out at arm’s-width. Blaise hurled it out of the cave and out into the snow, biting his tongue to hold in a gross sob. He sat down in the web funnel, aggressively wiping his tears. At that moment, all he wanted was Louise, or a sign, or anything that could help his poor son.

“Don’t take him away, please Mother and Father don’t take him away...” He whispered. Silently he continued to cry, staring up at the clouds and wishing for a ray of sunshine. But, he feared that it wouldn’t be coming soon enough.

Composing himself as well as he could manage, Blaise heaved his body up and trudged back to bed. Clovis breathed slowly beneath his fur blanket, appearing serene in spite of his sudden pallor. Blaise lay beside him, sandwiching the hatchling’s body between himself and his mother. He lay his head down, letting his chin rest on the bedding. With heavy eyes he watched Clovis, worried that any moment his gentle breathing would come to a halt.

Blaise didn’t realize that he had fallen asleep too.

 

                ...

 

Clovis woke. The sun was still shining outside, so he hadn’t slept more than a few hours. He grumbled as the pain in his stomach ignited again. For a moment he dry  heaved, but there was nothing left in his stomach to hurl back up. With a weak sniffle, he looked to his father. Blaise had fallen unconscious, curled up as if to protect him. The child sighed, and tried to get up. He was thirsty, but couldn’t reach the water. He couldn’t even pull his own tiny body up, let alone pull it the few feet that separated him from water.

Turning around, Clovis came to face his mother. It took all of the might that he could muster just to make it over to Louise’s side, leaning against her tail. With trembling bones, the toddler hit his mother’s scales.

“Mommy... Mommy wake up...” He wheezed. “Mommy please... Help me Mommy, please help me!” The child teared up, crying feebly into the bed. “Mommy I’m scared... I don’t wanna die. Daddy said I’m not gonna die, but I think he lied. Mommy you gotsa wake up...!”

Louise didn’t move.

Clovis sobbed, entire body shaking with his breath. “I want Mommy...” He whined. “Martin, Rosalie, please wake up.” Crying into the silence, no reply met him.

Turning his body back around, Clovis crawled towards his father. He pulled himself up to the man’s stomach, enough to hear his gut beneath the skin. Unlike his mother, Blaise’s body was warm, and somewhat comfort. Clovis was even to smile as the pain in his belly began to dissipate. He was feeling much better now, but his head had become strangely dizzy. He nudged the other arraneum with his head, trying to wake him.

Blaise’s eyes opened slowly. For a few seconds, he processed the situation. “Mnh... Clovis, you’re awake... Are you feeling any better now?”

The child nodded. “Mhm. I am.”

“Are you hungry?”

“No, I’m not.”

“What about your stomach?”

“It’s feeling a little bit better now.”

A heavy sigh of relief escaped Blaise’s lips. “That’s good to hear. I told you that some water and some sleep would make it better.”

Clovis grinned back at Blaise. Then he pulled the fur blanket back over his shoulder, nestling into a comfortable spot. “Daddy, when’s spring coming?” He asked. His blue irises poked out from where the rest of the bedding hid his face.

“Very soon.” Blaise answered, reaching out to pet his son’s head.

“When’s Mommy gonna wake up?”

“Before you know it, son.”

“When are we going to go see the other arraneums?”

“As soon as possible.”

It was the toddler’s turn to sigh. He closed his eyes, relaxing into the bed. “Are there other arraneums there I can play with, Daddy?”

Blaise nodded. “Yes there are. Lots and lots of them. And when we get there, all of the women are going to be laying eggs and having their babies.”

“Wow... I wanna play with them, can I?” Clovis asked, and Blaise could see the imagination behind his closed eyes.

“Yes you can. You can eat as much as you want, and you’ll learn all about the gods and where we go in the afterlife, and we’ll all get to live in a nice warm den together. Winter won’t have to be so hard anymore.”

Taking another deep breath, a sleepy grin crawled onto the boy’s lips. “I wanna see Mommy and Martin and Rosalie again soon...” He sighed. “I can’t wait... To go there...”

Blaise closed his eyes too. He chuckled and repeated the same tired grin that his son had shown. “We’ll be there very soon. I promise. All of us.”

He sat there in silence for a moment. Clovis didn’t make a sound, asleep again. Blaise opened his eyes again.

Clovis had stopped breathing.

Blaise blinked. He pulled himself up by his arms, shaking the child’s body. He watched with horror as he legs began to curl up on themselves. “Clovis.” He called. Blaise shook the child’s body gently, then faster, with more force. “Clovis. Clovis... Clovis!” He shouted frantically. The was no response, nor a pulse or heartbeat beneath his hands.

“No, no don’t die, Clovis don’t die!” He breathed. The arraneum reached out to Louise, grabbing her tail and shaking it. “Louise, wake up! Wake up! Please... Louise, wake up... I need you right now...” The words died in his throat. He could hardly breathe. He clutched his chest, gasping for air. His entire body had become consumed by panic and anxiety, and it left him powerless.

“No, no, no!” He wheezed. “Damn it...!” Blaise scooped his son up into his arms, cradling his limp body. The child’s head lolled backwards lifelessly.

Blaise stood up, charging out of the cave with his son’s body. He stared up into the sky, tears bursting from his eyes. “Give him back!” He bellowed at the clouds. “I’ve begged my entire life, it’s all ever wanted was to have my own family, you finally gave it to me! Don’t take it away, gods don’t take my baby away, GIVE HIM BACK!”

Blaise screamed at the clouds, howling in agony while his legs gave out beneath him. He screamed and sobbed, weeping like a newborn would. He held his son tight to his chest, his pleads and begging unintelligible.

His cries fell on deaf ears. The forest echoed his own useless screams back at him.

Blaise was alone.

 

...

 

The arraneum stood in a clearing, the only life present in the white hellscape. He cradled his son, lifeless body now swaddled in webs. He lay the child down in the snow, and knelt beside him. For a long time, he didn’t speak. Dusk wouldn’t come for a good while yet.

“This is where I met your Mother.” Blaise told the corpse. “She caught a deer, and let me come back home with her. She was mean at first, but you know, I think it’s because people were mean to her when she was a baby like you. I was happy when I found out that she was going to lay eggs, and happier when she told me that she loved me and she wanted to raise you and your siblings.” He turned to the body.

“I never told you, but you were going to have another brother or sister. They died inside of the egg.” He confessed. Though the ears he spoke to were deaf, the arraneum needed to say the words. It had been a long time since he’d taken part in letting go of his secrets to the dead. He could hardly remember speaking to Parnell’s corpse now, and what memory he did have had become hazy with time. “I was going to ask... If maybe she’d let me make more babies with her in a few years. But you know, I think it might make me sad now.”

He turned to face his son directly. His eyes flickered towards the sky for a second, and then returned to the child’s body. He could hardly remember proper prayer either, but he would try.

“Mother and Father, my son stopped running today. I never thought that I could make a child of my own and see it. I never believe that I’d be blessed enough to watch someone that I love give birth and hatch three children with me, but somehow, it happened.” He hiccupped again. “I don’t know why you took part that away from me. I wonder if you can even see me down here all alone. I wonder if this isn’t my punishment for my grandfather giving a human an arranneum child. But please, guide Clovis to Paradise and give him lots of other friends to play with. That’s all he wanted.”

Blaise wiped tears from his cheeks again. It was too cold to cry. He stared down at his son as if there was any hope that he’d spring to life again. He felt the necklace that Louise had made for him, rubbing the bone from the animal Clovis had killed. He gulped, and reached down to his son’s mouth. He pried it open, then pulled a web into his fingers. He tied it around the end of one of the boy’s fangs.

“I’m sorry. It won’t hurt.” Blaise whispered. He yanked the web, forcefully extracting the child’s fang. Blaise clutched it in his hand, and then close the boy’s jaws again. He’d come here to leave the body for something to come along and eat, after all. The cold stream couldn’t carry Clovis’ body, and the earth was frozen too hard to dig a grave. If anything, Blaise thought it might be suitable to bring the product of his and Louise’s love to place where it had been born. An end to the beginning, he thought.

He stood up. There were no more hysterics left in him. Hollow sadness and grief pooled in Blaise’s belly while he stared down at his dead son. He wanted to say something, something with meaning, that would sound like it came directly from his soul. But what else was there for him to say but the obvious?

“Goodbye, Clovis. I love you.”

Blaise turned away, and didn’t look back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hnnng this was a hard chapter to write. Though most things have changed, this chapter's format didn't waver much. But I refused to publish until I could make myself cry over it, and boy I sure did lmao. Thanks for reading! Please remember to kudo, comment, and subscribe for e-mail updates <3


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick apology about this chapter. It goes through an awkwardly large time skip in the middle, and the first and second parts of it were meant to be individual chapters. However, the first part came out at only about 1000 words, so I felt that it would be best to combine these two pieces into one chapter. Thank you for understanding VoV

“Damn it!” Blaise cursed as a squirrel escaped his grasp by a hair. He tried to run after it, but before he could even stumble, the creature found safety high up in a tree. Blaise flopped back down to the ground where he’d tackled the rodent, gracelessly flinging slow into the air. He looked back up at his hand. His palm connected to a bony wrist. The earth beneath the snow poked at Blaise’s ribs, forcing him to hold himself up again or face the discomfort. The vertebrae of his spine rolled against the inside of Blaise’s flesh as he forced himself again.

He held his stomach, feeling it growl pitifully beneath his touch. Blaise felt so hungry. He’d either been too depressed or too cold to hunt, and when he could there was hardly another living thing to be found. His skin sagged on his bones, hollowed-out eyes giving him the appearance of a spectre as he hobbled through the woods. The arraneum looked at the grass poking out from where he’d dented the snow, and his stomach rumbled. The grass couldn’t feed him, so he trudged forward.

Blaise huffed with the effort of having to rotate all eight of his legs through the snow. His stomach groaned, and the wind howled at his ears, thick hair hardly enough to keep them from freezing. His head began to hurt; and he begged for any sign of tracks or dung in the snow. The path was clear but for the white powder. Now his head was becoming light, and his brain buzzed with the sound of the wind in his ears.

He cried out when one leg became caught on a down branch. Blaise fell face-first, hitting the icy ground. He sat there for a moment. His cheek hurt where it had connected with the ground, and his flesh and bones becoming painfully cold. When it was too much for him to take, he rolled over onto his back. The man stared up at the clouds, just barely able to make out the sun shining behind them.

It had been so long. So long since winter had begun, so long since Louise had fallen asleep, so long since he’d let his son die. The days dragged on, and he felt so weak. Maybe he couldn’t take it anymore.

His fists flopped to the ground, and he lie-spread eagle looking up at the sky. Tears welled up in his eyes, pulling along an ugly grimace. He pulled himself up, half-frozen hair hitting his shoulders. Blaise clutched his necklace. “Fuck you...” He wheezed. “I’m not going to die!” He continued, whispering into space. Blaise yanked his body off of the ground again, dragging through the snow. He stopped, supporting himself on the trunk of a tree.

Sobs caused the arraneum’s body to shudder. “I’ve got too much to keep living for, I promised Louise, Martin and Rosalie.. I promised I’d take them to the other arraneum.” He coughed, warm saliva being swallowed by the ice crystals below. “I’ve got to go back, I’ve got to stop being such a coward.”

He pushed himself off of the tree, burying his forelegs into the snow. “I can’t die, I won’t die, if I die then there’s going to be nothing left for the three of them to live for anymore.” He sobbed again. He hurt, he hungered, he hated everything around him. “Just let me live...” He breathed, begging for his life to no one else but the trees.

A cry echoed across the frozen landscape, and Blaise’s head shot up. A second shriek followed, bursting into his ears, and he forced himself off of the tree in search of its source. He stumbled, but didn’t fall, moving forward towards the cries.

Blaise paused. The noise originated from a deer, wandering through the snow with what must have been a broken leg. Without thinking about the fact that there could have been a bear or cougar close behind the animal, Blaise ran for it, tackling the injured creature to the ground. Snow flew up into the air and the animal screamed, flailing wildly as Blaise desperately tore into its neck. He severed the primary vein in its neck, hot blood spraying back into his face as the deer began to bleed out. For good measure, he strained to twist the screeching creature’s neck, forcing it into silence by dragging its last breath out.  

Blaise wheezed horrendously for a moment. He sat on top of the deer’s warm carcass, eventually collapsing on top of it. He sobbed again, the source of his cries driven by joy. “Thank you...!” He whimpered into the fur of the deer. Without any more hesitation, he sank his jaws into the animal’s belly, fiercely ripping it open. Blood and entrails spilled out into the snow, dripping into the ice as Blaise filled his gut.

He ate much more quickly than he should have, only stopping when his stomach began to threaten to toss up everything that it had taken in. The man wiped his face, rubbing off the crusted blood and tears. Looking across the clearing, he saw a beam of light pouring down. Turning his head up, a part in the clouds had appeared, letting the sun shine through. Blaise laughed.

“I’m gonna live.”

 

...

 

Blaise poked the water’s surface with his foot. Still too cold. He humphed at the chilly creek, glaring at the fish beneath its surface. They’d just started to creep back into the water where he could reach for them, but not without a long net. He turned to rummage around for something suitable, skipping over a thin patch of snow. It was that time of year when the ice had melted, but the trees hadn’t yet begun to bud, and the birds were steadily creeping back into the forest. For Blaise, it meant that the day he’d be reunited with his family was drawing steadily closer.

He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be excited or afraid.

On one hand, he wanted to see and speak to the three naga again. But, along with the reunion came the burden of having to relay the news of Clovis’ death. The pain had just begun to scab over for him- but Louise, Martin and Rosalie would be waking up to a harsh blow to the heart. But the inevitable would come, and Blaise would have to be able to offer his shoulder to the others. Maybe it would help if he had someone to lean on as well.

The arraneum brought himself to the bottom of a tree, jumping up and down until he could grab one of the branches with both arms. He pulled all of his legs off of the ground, forearms quivering. His body lacked muscle still, and the weight he brought down onto the branch was only just enough to make it snap. Blaise landed back down onto the ground again, backing up and twisting the branch with his hands. With a bit of effort he was able to twist the wood from the tree, snapping the extra twigs off.

While he twisted and pulled at the branch, Blaise remembered the layout of where he’d sewn webs between these trees the year before. This year, he hadn’t thought to spin them. He didn’t think that it would have made much difference in the turnout of this year’s season anyhow. Then, he thought briefly on the arraneum woman that he’d encountered. The scar on his nape remained where she’d bitten him- and if she was alive somewhere, then she’d be bearing a similar mark on her face. If given the chance, he would have liked to apologize. Maybe she’d found her way to the colony and they’d meet up again there.

Tossing down the last twig, Blaise angled the branch so that he could spin a net on the end of it. Working by the feel of his hind legs, the arraneum had a sturdy tool within minutes. He pulled at it to test the strength of the wood. The tip didn’t bend, so he nodded to himself.

Blaise sauntered back to the edge of the water with his net, standing with the ends of his front feet just barely poking the surface. Carefully he drew his net, pushing it into the water. As he pushed it in deeper, his arms strained somewhat against the current. But he kept his net steady, hoping that something would wander into it soon.

Swish! He pulled up the net as he saw a curious fish poke its head into it. But, pulling it up, he found his net empty. Blaise sighed. But he pulled his net back and eased it into the water again. His mind wandered, mesmerized by the constant movement of the water. He stared at the reflecting light- snapped out of his trance by a low growl in his belly. Blaise turned his attention back to his prey, clenching both hands around the net. In his daze another fish had swam up close. Determined to catch it this time, he waited.

The animal’s head connected with his net, and Blaise hurled the object out of the water. This time there was weight on the end of the branch- a fish flopped around in the pouch. With a small cry of victory, Blaise pulled the net back so that the creature couldn’t flop back into the water. He grabbed the fish, snapping its spine in two. As much as he wanted to flop down and eat, the wind made it a bit too chilly yet to have a relaxing meal. He deposited the dead fish back into the webs.

Picking up his net and throwing it around his shoulders, Blaise moved away from the stream and back towards home. The arraneum found that he had to twist and maneuver his body around a bit to keep the branch from snagging on everything. Swivelling and twisting along the path, he made it back into the familiar clearing in front of his home. Pieces of web lie in tatters around the place, remnants of the funnel that he’d sewn over winter.

Blaise sat his net back down on the ground again. He settled down next to the fallen tree, sitting next to the dead hunk of wood. Soon, moss and mushrooms would take root inside of it, and feed off of the larger plant’s skeleton. The arraneum pulled his own meal out of the net he’d spun. He opened his mouth to bite back the layer of scales- but his ears perked up to a sound. Shuffling across stone, then movement in the grass.

“...Blaise?”

The man looked up from his fish. He dropped it to the ground, mouth stupidly hanging open. At the mouth of the cave, Louise was hunched over. The drowsy naga had to support herself on the wall, hips wobbling too much to let her stand on her own. The best that she could manage was leaning against the wall, rubbing her eyes.

Blaise launched himself off of the ground. He ran to the naga, abdomen wagging back and forth gleefully. He helped Louise off of the wall, pulling her into his arms. He embraced the woman harder than he likely should have, but the bliss of seeing her eyes again had taken him over.

Louise blinked, grunting quietly. “Everything’s different... Did I just wake up?” She asked, dry throat causing her voice to come out as a small croak. She pushed herself back, slowly examining Blaise from top to bottom. “God, you look terrible.”

Blaise’s smile dropped. “What do you mean?” He questioned.

“You look like a ghost. Haven’t you been eating?” The naga cleared her throat, but it did little to soothe the crackle in her voice.

Blaise blinked slowly. She was right. Even though he was surviving on what he had, his muscles had grown small, and his bones continued to push at the underside of his skin in many places. His fur had become thinner, his hair and nails more brittle. He pushed a little grin back onto his face. “That’s just what winter does, Louise. I’m fine.”

The woman humphed. Even while dazed, confused, and dehydrated, she maintained her snarky tone. Her expression went from annoyed to something else that Blaise couldn’t place She looked up to him, hands moving to hold onto his arms. “What about Clovis? Where is he? I want to see how much bigger he’s gotten...!” She requested hopefully.

Blaise didn’t respond. His mouth opened, and his mouth went wide. All of the millions of responses that he’d rehearsed in his head had flown from him. Now, with Louise’s excited and hope-filled face beamed up at him, he physically could not answer the question.

It didn’t take long for that expression to fade. Louise gave Blaise’s arms a feeble shake. “Blaise. What’s wrong? Why aren’t you answering me?” She asked. The arraneum stuttered, trying to come up with something. But Louise kept shaking, tangled hair flying into her face, dry voice becoming higher and more frantic. “Blaise, where’s my baby?! Tell me where he is, right now! Blaise, answer me!” She rattled the man’s torso, shouting into his face, and Blaise could feel a speck of saliva hit his cheek.

“...He didn’t make it.” The words crawled out of Blaise’s throat.

Louise stopped. “Didn’t make it...? What do you mean didn’t make it? He was just here a couple of minutes ago, I just saw him!” The naga cried.

Now the sting of tears and opened wounds was greeting Blaise again. “He died, Louise. He was fine one day, and then he just... He started throwing up everywhere, I couldn’t get him to eat or drink anything because it kept coming back up.” Now images of the scene were popping back up into his head. The blood, the wailing, the horrific sight of his son’s legs curling up and in on themselves.  “Louise, I’m sorry-”

Smack.

Blaise made a choked noise as Louise’s palm connected with his face. His cheek stung, a red mark swelling where he’d been slapped. The naga’s eyes were as filled with anger as they were tears. “If you blame yourself, I’ll smack you until you really feel sorry, do you...” Her voice wavered, and she gulped down another breath. “Do you understand?”

The man’s face contorted into an agonized grimace. He nodded slowly, like a child, responding with a tiny ‘mhm’. After that, Blaise was assaulted with the full weight of the naga tossing herself around him. She sobbed, the wailing sound only half-way muffled by the arraneum’s shoulder.

The sound of Louise’s agonized sobbing made Blaise’s ears hurt. He cried along with her, a bit more quiet, trying to keep himself composed. Again, he wanted to tell her so many things. Mainly that he was sorry, but she’d made it clear that she wouldn’t stand for his self-blame. And, in honesty, Blaise knew that it wasn’t his fault. But knowing that didn’t make it hurt any less. So he held onto Louise, quiet but for some reassuring shushes.

He stroked the top of her head gently, running his hand down throw her tangled hair. “I missed you.” He told her in a small voice. “It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

Louise hiccupped. “I know. I’m just...” She rubbed her head against him to find a better position. “It’s been a long time for you, but for me... I just feel like I took a nap, and now Clovis is gone, and now you look like you’ve been starving, and I can’t believe it. This has to be a dream, it’s not fair!” The woman raved on. “I want my baby back, Blaise, this can’t be happening...!”

“I know it isn’t.” The man responded. “But believe me, if begging would have brought him back, then I cried enough for it to happen.” He paused to sigh. “As soon as Martin and Rosalie wakes up, and your Season passes, we’ll go to the others. Then we’ll never have to worry about finding food again, and we’ll be together for a very long time.”

The naga sniffled. “Promise?” Louise stared up at him with eyes that Blaise could have mistaken for a hatchling’s. In a way, he thought, she did resemble one. Old enough to feel the pain of losing someone, but not experienced enough to understand the often unforgiving nature of the forest. He managed a smile.

“I promise. We’ll be together.”  

“Mm.” Louise hummed. Staggering, she pushed herself away from Blaise, moving out into the barren bushes. The arraneum didn’t follow, moving in the opposite direction. He returned to where he’d dropped his fish earlier. Bending over, he picked the animal up out of the grass and brushed it off. He sat back down again, waiting for Louise to finish relieving herself. He could still hear the shuddering breaths and hiccups coming from her direction as he peeled back the fish’s scales. When she did come back out of the shadows, Louise slithered back to where Blaise sat, pressing herself up against his torso.

“I’m cold.” She told him. Blaise wrapped his free arm around her shoulder, all the while holding the fish.

“Do you want me to get something for you to wrap around your shoulders?” He asked.

“No, not right now.” She replied.

Blaise nodded silently. Slowly, he tore away a piece of the fish with his teeth. He pinched the meat between two fingers, and then brought it to Louise’s mouth. “You should eat.”  He said.

The woman shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”

He pushed it to her lips. “Eat, Louise. You’re hurt.”

Louise grunted. “What do you mean hurt? I’m fine.” She unwillingly took the food into her mouth, speaking with her mouth full. Blaise nudged her up closer to himself.

“Not outside, but inside. If you eat, then it’ll help to heal you.” He explained. Blaise watched his lover process the thought with wide eyes for a moment, then her face twisted again, and tears returned. She chewed, swallowed, and bumped his chin with the top of her head.

“More please.”

“Of course.”

Blaise continued to feed her slowly. Louise hadn’t yet figured it out, but after the long winter, she was in almost as sorry of a state as he was. It didn’t matter, though. They’d made it, and that’s what counted now.

“Was he in pain?” Louise asked after a short while.

“Yes. But he told me that it felt better right before the end.” Blaise gulped. “The last thing he told me was that he wanted to go and meet the other arraneum.” He followed with a sigh. “ I wish that we could have taken him with us. But, I know that he’s in Paradise playing with the other hatchlings that didn’t make it through winter this year. I know he’s happy, no matter what.”

The naga listened to him. Her lips were curled down, as were her ears. “... Thank you.” She replied. “That makes me feel better. I want to go meet the others. As soon as we can.”

“We will.” Blaise assured her once more.

“Blaise?”

“Yeah?”

“I miss him.”

“It’s okay. I do too.”

Louise started to cry again. They leaned against one another, crying on and off, whispering the good and bad to themselves. Mourning was all that they could do. But, neither of them were alone, Blaise thought, and that made things a little bit better.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please remember to kudo, comment and subscribe if you'd like email updates for new chapters!


	28. Chapter 28

Louise curled over, reaching down to pull something away from the ground. Blaise paused to watch her, eyes following the movement of her hand. She plucked a dandelion from the ground, standing upright again with the yellow weed pinched between her fingers.

There were few blossoms to be found between the tiny sprouts on the trees. The comatose branches stirred, pushing out tiny green and pink buds on the end of every twig. The trilling of a handful of birds echoed through the woods, creating a fresh background noise. And while the sky was still littered with clouds here and there, the sun had finally shown itself again, blanketing the ground in light. Blaise felt blessed to have sunshine on his shoulders once more.

The arraneum kept moving. He didn’t think much of Louise pulling  out the dandelion until she stopped again, tugging yet another flower out of the ground. He slowed and stopped to turn towards the naga. She rolled the stem of the dandelion between her fingers for a moment, and then coupled it with the first that she’d collected. Blaise cocked his head to the side.

“Why are you pulling out the dandelions?” He asked, one foreleg perked in a curious stance.

Louise scanned the ground, for more flowers Blaise presumed, and then looked to him. “It’s...” She stopped for a moment, looking at the weeds she’d pulled. “It’s something I picked up from someone else. Should I stop?”

“Pulling out the flowers?” He replied with the question. “It just depends on what you’re pulling them out for. Are you gonna eat them or something?”

Louise chuckled. “No, I’m not going to eat them.” She replied. Slithering a ways ahead of him, Blaise watched her back as she bent down to pick more dandelions. She’d hardly answered his question. Regardless, he trotted to catch up with her again. While the two of them weaved their way through the trees, Louise would stop to pick a dandelion, and then continue to slither forward. Once she had plucked a good handful of them, she passed the rest by.

“How much further is it?” She asked, fiddling with the weeds.

“Not far now. Didn’t you use to hunt here all the time? You should know where it is, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s been at least a year and a half since I last used it. I was hungry last time.”

“Aah.” Blaise hummed. “I’m glad for that empty stomach you had, then.” He joked, knocking shoulders with her playfully. Louise pushed back, rolling her eyes and grinning sarcastically. Blaise was more than glad to see her grin. There had been too many tears lately.

Together they stepped out of the trees and into a meadow. The wind grazed the tips of the grass as they entered, carrying along a single chirp from off in the distance. Blaise stepped out a few feet, and then came to a stop. Louise followed.

“This would have been about it, I think.” He informed the naga. He pointed to a spot in the grass with one of his legs. She slid up to the area. Blaise sighed, parting the grass with his foot. Blotted and broken shards of bone could be seen caked in the dirt. “There are still some bones left... I think this is him, at least.”

Louise gulped beside him. She bent over, picking up one of the bone shards and wiping off the dirt. “This doesn’t feel real.” She whispered. “It seems like a few days ago I was holding him, and now this. Just a couple of broken bones.”

Blaise drew closer to her, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “We’ll be the same, someday. But, look how thick the grass is growing right here.” He pointed out.

“Yeah...” Louise breathed. Now it was her turn to sigh, tossing the flowers and the piece of her son’s bone back to the earth. She stared at the spot for a while, and then returned to nuzzle back against Blaise. “Humans give flowers to the dead. They’d take them to the place where someone died and leave them there. I’ve heard of that so much, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to do it too.”

Blaise listened to her silently. He tried to press his fingers into her shoulder to rub out some of the weight, but he wasn’t sure if it was going to do any good. She exhaled and prodded one of his legs with the tip of her tail.

“I’ll be fine.” She mumbled. “But to be honest... Even after being carted across the country in a metal box, beaten, and raped, I think this is the hardest thing I’ve had to go through.” Louise confessed. “I’m worried about Martin and Rosalie too, they’ve been up for a week and I can barely get them to calm down.”

The arraneum kissed the top of Louise’s head. “I know.” He tried to sound comforting, but he could hardly think of any words that might make anything better. Instead, he decided to act. “You can go home and check on those two. They’ll probably be awake when you get back. I’ll go try and catch something to eat. There’s a spot near here that I used to have a lot of luck with.”

He watched her lip twitch, expecting some amount of protest, but Louise’s shoulders relaxed and she nodded. “Alright. Just come home soon, it looks like it could rain.” She advised him. “I think I’ll stay here for a few more minutes.”

Blaise rubbed the back of her head, and pulled away. “Alright.” He said. His eyes flickered to the bone shards and dandelions, and a memory resurfaced in his head. Blaise felt for his necklace, and then tapped Louise on the shoulder. “Ah, I forgot!” He exclaimed. “I have something that I want you to put on my necklace when we get home. I put it next to the box of thread.” He informed the naga.

“What is it?” Louise asked.

“I’ll show you later.” He replied. “I need to get going so I don’t get caught up in a storm.” He started off across the meadow, waving his hand goodbye. But he stopped and turned. “Don’t stay too long, okay?”

The naga waved back at him, urging him to keep going. “I won’t, now go on!” She called back. Blaise nodded his head, and trotted back into the woods on the other side of the field. If his memory proved him right, then there would be another patch of treeless grass just a few moments away from the one he’d left.

Thankfully, Blaise turned out to be right. A smaller patch of field lay outside of the trees, lined by budding shrubbery. He lowered himself onto the ground, crawling on his hands and legs until he could shrink down below the bushes. His feet and elbows sank down into the mud slowly, the wet soil caking around anything that touched down on it. Blaise didn’t stir, however, knowing that the sucking sounds of his body in the mud could chase off prey. He did, however, begin spinning a web rope to help ensnare anything that came through. He pulled a rock out of the mud, attaching it to his line.

He thought he heard the drum of thunder in the distance, but it very well could have been his belly. Maybe it was too early to hope for anything to come, he thought. However, it was proven wrong when the familiar flapping of a turkey’s wings entered his ears. A turkey hen touched down in the grass, ruffling its feathers and beginning to preen itself. Typically, Blaise might have waited for more to follow, or at least for the bird to come closer. But for today he had to assume that there would be no second chances. He leapt, hurling the web at the turkey. It gobbled and shrieked as the stone connected with its body, and in its frenzy the animal only continued to tangle itself in Blaise’s trap.

The arraneum descended upon the animal, silencing its cries with a stomp to the neck. He bore down on it with his foreleg again for good measure, watching it flop and go still. As he pulled the bird up off of the ground, the sun left the clearing. Blaise turned his head towards the sky. Dark clouds had rolled underneath the sun, shrouding the woods in shadows. Blaise slung the turkey over his shoulders and skittered out of the field, scampering along towards home in hopes that he wouldn’t get caught up by the rain.

As the arraneum walked, the thunder seemed to nip at his heels. It grew louder, stalking Blaise like a cougar would a fawn. As his pace increased, so did the volume of the rumbles, almost on him even though he was only half of the way home. A sprinkle of water became two, and then they became drops falling off of the end of Blaise’s nose. As he hopped over a log, the sky opened up to him; and crack of lightning illuminated the base of the clouds to announce the rain.

Blaise ran for a few seconds, slowed to a trot, and then to a crawl. He sighed depressedly, then continued trudging forward in the mud. His legs became caked with dirt, joining the layer of filth on his arms and torso from lying in the dirt before.

The journey back home felt like forever. He only sped up to the sound of the wind, howling at his presence between the trees. But, when he did make it back, he was drenched and coated with mud. As he approached the cave, voices came drifting out.

“Mommy, where’s Daddy? It’s raining outside!” He heard Rosalie’s voice first. He could hear the tears in her voice before he could see her, and his ears perked to a second voice.

“Is he gonna get sick too, Mommy? You said we’ll get sick if we play in the rain, is Daddy gonna die?” His son piped in, hiccupping between words. Blaise’s feet hit the stone, and he stopped, half-way inside the mouth.

Louise held both of their children close to her body. Both children were dry and wrapped in pelts to keep out the chilly wind, clinging to the naga who looked like she hadn’t been spared from the rain either. The three were huddled together in their bed, tails intertwined and tears mixing with drops of rain. Louise shushed the children, letting them rest their heads on her hips. “Everything’s going to be fine.” She whispered to them. “Your father’s going to be home any second, and a little bit of rain never killed anybody.”

The woman looked up, and her eyes caught the sight of Blaise’s silhouette at the end of the cave. “There he is, see?” She told the two of them. She grinned, but Blaise didn’t budge, standing where the water dripping down from the cave continued to drench him. Louise’s smile faded, and she pulled herself off of the ground. “...Blaise?”

The man didn’t move, staring down at the floor with empty eyes. He heard Louise’s scales sliding across the rock, coming closer to him. She reached out to him with both hands, pushing his chin up to look him in the eye. Blaise responded with a slow blink, dirt and water dripping out of his hair. Louise didn’t speak a word to him either, but she wrapped her arms around him, pulling their torsos close. The turkey fell onto the stone, and Louise eased Blaise inside just enough to get him out of the rain. The man let his head drop as a dead weight onto her shoulder, sighing through his nose.

The pair of children approached their parents, standing at Blaise’s feet. Martin tapped his father’s leg with one hand. “Daddy... Are you ok?” He asked, voice small.

“Don’t worry, Martin.” Louise muttered to the boy, picking up on Blaise’s inability to answer. “Daddy’s fine. He’s just hurting like the rest of us.” She explained.

There was a short period of silence. Rosalie pulled her fur shawl from her shoulders, and held it up. “You’re all wet Daddy...” She mumbled as she offered up the pelt. This time, Blaise forced his head off of Louise’s shoulder, staring down at his daughter. He took the fur with ginger fingers, using it to squeeze the water out of his hair.

With a little bit of effort, Louise pulled the soggy and depressed arraneum back to their bed where the rain wouldn’t touch them. Martin and Rosalie worked together to pull the bird’s carcass back, leaving a trail of feathers where they dragged it across the stone. They ate, though Blaise didn’t have much of an appetite, hanging the remains when the rain had slowed to drips.

“Are you alright?” Louise asked Blaise after the sun had gone down. The arraneum’s head sat on her lap, ear pressed to her scales. The two smaller naga had fallen asleep for the night, and he felt one of them brush against his leg.

“Mmh.” He grunted. “I wish I knew how to make the three of you happy again.”

“Time, sweetheart.”

Blaise looked up. “Time?”

Louise nodded. “Time heals all wounds. At least, that’s what I’ve heard.” She told him. “You know, I told you earlier that out of all the bad things that have happened, this is the hardest of them, right?”

“Mhm.”

“I got through them, even if they were terrible. You made it through a lot of shit too. The kids will feel better as soon as they’ve got friends to play with.” She murmured, running her fingers through Blaise’s hair.

Blaise nuzzled her belly. “Thanks.”

The naga hummed, and then paused. “What are we going to do about my season? It’ll start any day now.”

The arraneum rolled onto his back, shifting around until he was comfortable. “What do you mean? We’ve just got to wait for it to pass.”

“Really? I practically attacked you last year.”

“And you didn’t do anything else until I invited you, remember?” Blaise replied. “You’re going to have to trust me keep those kinds of urges under control around around arraneum women, I trust you to keep a clear head around me.”

Louise flushed. “Alright. But I still don’t know how I’m going to explain things to Martin and Rosalie. I haven’t said anything to them about sex yet.”

“Trust me, it’s better they learn this way than walking out to dead people all over the place like I did.”

She laughed under her breath. “Fair enough.”

Blaise closed his eyes for a few moments, and slowly opened them again. He shifted, and then pulled his body up. “I almost forgot.” He whispered, approaching the stone shelf in the wall. He groped around in the dark for a moment, finding purchase in a tiny piece of bone. Blaise pinched it between his fingers, and then returned to the bed. He held his hand out, and Louise raised hers. He dropped the tooth that he’d pulled from Clovis’ jaws into her palm. Louise brought it closer to her face to examine.

“What is this?” She asked.

“It’s one of Clovis’ teeth. I wanted to ask if you’d put a hole in it and put it on my necklace.

Louise’s expression shifted towards disgust. “You pulled a tooth out of his body? That’s...”

“It’s what?” Blaise questioned anxiously.

“That’s...” She murmured. “It’s just like you to do. I’ll string it in before we leave, promise.”

“Thank you.”

“Now get some rest.” Louise told him. “Who knows when and if I’ll start acting like an idiot.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what is revision lmao. I didn't really like this chapter. However, the end of part 1 is coming very soon >:33c


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the shortness of this chapter. It was going to be another one of those 'timeskip in the middle' ones, but I don't like those, so I decided to cut it off as-is.

Blaise rolled over. The small hours of morning had come; the only light being a single ray of dawn over the treeline. He lie half between waking and sleep, the feeling of another body sliding against his back rousing his mind. He waited for a moment, and when the movement persisted, a dry grunt crawled out from his throat. “Louise, move over...” He grumbled. But the feel of scales rolling against his legs persisted, followed by a hand that dragged across his skin and came to rest on his chest. Blaise’s eyes opened to form slits, and he turned his head. “Are you okay...? He breathed.

The naga didn’t answer. Blaise felt the end of her tongue graze the tip of his cheek, and then the brush of her hair as she moved closer to him. Seconds later, he found his lips pressed against hers. Giving a tiny sigh through his nose, Blaise kissed back. Though he was tired, the warmth of Louise’s body wasn’t unwelcome against the cold air. Her weight shifted onto him, and he snaked one arm up and around her shoulders. He stroked her hair, letting her tongue press against the insides of his mouth. The taste wasn’t the most pleasant, but the feeling made his sleepy heart beat fast.

“Louise...” He gave the tiny, pleasured whisper while taking away for air. She moved again, teeth scraping against the veins in his neck. One of her fangs poked his skin, and Blaise’s eyes shot open. “Wait a second!” He hissed, rolling over onto his stomach. He pushed himself up off of the ground, feeling Louise drape herself over his body again. He pushed her back- only to observe the drunken, half-lidded gaze that she returned to him. The arraneum sprung out of bed.

“No, we can’t do this.” He whispered, almost stepping on one of the children while he backpedaled. He managed to disentangle the woman from his limbs, skittering away. He could hear Louise’s tail shuffling across the stone after him, following him into the wet grass.

“Blaise, where are you going?” She called out to him. The arraneum had already cleared the grass and made it to the trees, making a beeline for his webs. “Why don’t you come back to bed, it’s cold out here~” She hummed, voice travelling on a hazy whine.

The man scurried into his webs, climbing higher up and away from the woman as he went. She followed him, coming to lean against the base of the tree.  Blaise looked down at her, just a shadowy silhouette in the dim light. “You’re not yourself right now Louise, if we have sex while you’re in season-” He grunted as he pulled himself up. “Then we can’t go to where the other arraneum are, and I’m not spending another winter out here by myself!” By the time he’d finished, Blaise had yanked himself up to the highest tier of his web. He flattened himself down on his belly, chin lying just over the edge to stare down at her. “I’m going back to sleep now, go back in the cave and get some rest.”

Louise whined at the base of the tree. “But Blaise-”

“Nope!”

“Can you just use your-”

“No.”

“Plea-”

“Go to sleep, Louise.”

Blaise watched the woman huff, then turn around and slink back to bed while grumbling under her breath. He sighed in relief, turning back over to lie on his back. She couldn’t get him up here, and he could get some rest. The breeze flew over him, and he shuddered as the wind grazed his excited member.

“At least it’s cold today...”

 

...

 

Sleeping in his web hadn’t gone as well as Blaise had hoped at the start. While he didn’t have much choice given the current situation; it was cold and wet. He tossed and turned around for several hours, almost to the point where he was afraid that the layer of web he’d made a bed from would fall down into the next. He gave up as the sun pulled itself up, driving his last hope for sleep away by the heels.

It wasn’t long after that Louise came creeping back out of the cave, calling for him at the bottom of the tree again. Blaise waved her off, turning his back and telling her to go eat. She ignored him, and for a moment he thought that she wasn’t too dissimilar from an arraneum woman in the fall. She’d circle around herself in the grass, roll around a bit, then sit for a while and straighten out her hair. Much loopier than the way she’d behaved last year- but then again, he hadn’t exactly deprived her before.

When she retreated back into the cave again, he sat his head down and tried to rest his eyes for a while. He heard the voices of his family drift up from below, echoing out of the cave and up through the trees. Blaise couldn’t make out what they were saying, but from the tones he caught, then the children were confused. He inwardly cursed himself for putting off an explanation of why their mother was acting like she’d swallowed mushrooms.

Soon enough, he opened his eyes at the feeling of another body entering the web. Blaise turned to watch his daughter slithering across his webs. “Daddy, what’s going on?” She asked. “Mommy’s acting all funny, is she sick?”

Blaise chuckled, his throat drier than he’d thought. “No, she’s fine. Where’s your brother?” He questioned her back.

“He’s still tryna sleep.”

“Is Mommy being loud?”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry about that.” Blaise apologized. “Your mother’s not quite herself right now. She’s in Season, so she’s probably going to be acting kinda silly for a few days.”

“Season? Isn’t it spring?” Rosalie plopped down beside her father, holding her face in her hands.

“Yes and no.” Her father laughed. He watched as the older naga slid back into the clearing, rolling around the the grass again. “When girls grow up, their body changes. They get taller, they grow breasts, and their body is big enough to hold eggs inside. Once a year, girls’ bodies will be ready to make them, and then they start to smell and act funny around boys.” He explained, trying to dumb it down enough for the toddler to understand. Down below, Louise let out a chirp.

“Why boys?”

Blaise jumped a little. “Well...” He chuckled nercously. “Boys are the ones who put them inside of a girl.”

“Ooooh.” The child replied. Her father relaxed again, staring back down into the clearing. Rosalie lay quiet for a while, and then sat her head down as well. Blaise’s eyes flickered towards her for a second, noting the pouting expression on her face. “I wish Mommy would make more, I miss my brother...” She mumbled.

Blaise’s heart bobbed downwards in his chest. “I know you do.” He whispered. “But doing that wouldn’t bring him back.”

“I know...” The toddler replied in a tiny voice. At the base of the tree, Louise rolled around again, and she giggled. Blaise laughed with her.

The arraneum stood up. “Come on then, let’s go together and see if there are any fish or frogs swimming around.” He traipsed across the web as his daughter slipped and slid behind him.

“Aren’t you hiding from Mommy?” She called after him.

“Don’t worry, she wouldn’t do anything in front of you two.” Blaise laughed. The tiny naga cocked her head to one side, watching her father slip back down towards the grass. She blinked, and followed after him.

  
  


 

 


	30. Chapter 30

“God, my head...”

Louise curled up and in on herself, skull tucked away somewhere between the coils of her tail. She shuddered, using her hand to pull the nearest animal skin up over her shoulders. Beside her, Blaise preened his hair, yanking out a twig that had become knotted in it. He chuckled under his breath, earning a punt from the end of Louise’s tail.

“Laugh at me, stupid spider, I’ll...”

“You’ll what?” Blaise teased.

Louise only humphed in reply, hiding deeper in her own skin. After a few moments, she pulled her head back out with an annoyed sigh. “God, this is how I knew I was pregnant last year. I always feel like shit after I’m in heat.” She groaned.

“How long will it take before you’re better?” Blaise inquired. Louise messily tossed a lock of stray hair out of her face.

“I dunno, tomorrow morning probably? I usually feel better after a day or two.” The naga replied, holding her head up by her elbows.

“Good.” Blaise stated, giving a firm nod with his head.” “Then at dawn tomorrow, we’re leaving to go back to the colony.”

“Huh?!” Louise squawked. On the other side of the cave, the children’s heads popped up, soon forgetting about the bone they’d been scrapping over.

Blaise nodded his head. “You heard me.” He told the woman. “First thing tomorrow morning, we’re getting up and moving to where the other arraneum are.” He repeated himself again.

Louise sputtered. “Blaise, we can’t just leave now!” She argued. “It’s probably the end of March by now, if we take off tomorrow then we’ll get rained on the whole way there! We don’t have any sort of tent, let alone anything to keep warm.”

“It’ll be better than leaving after the rainy season- then it’ll be too hot to do anything, and moving forward will be slower. We can all tough out a little bit of rain along the way.” He retorted. “If we leave tomorrow, there’s more of a chance that we’ll be able to get there before the rain even becomes too much of a problem.” Blaise explained. “With all four of us, it’ll probably take at least a month to get there. But, there isn’t any other option unless we all want to sit around in this cave for the rest of our lives.”

The three naga stared at him in silence. Louise broke it with a heavy sigh, her shoulders sliding down in resignation. “I guess you’re right.” She huffed. “Fine then, we’ll go tomorrow.”

“So we’re leaving?” Martin piped in, darting over to his father. By now, he’d grown too big to hide under the man’s abdomen. “We’re gonna go and see all the other arraneums?” He questioned, the excitement in his voice rising.

“Yeah, I wanna go as soon as we can!” Rosalie chimed in, sliding across the floor to tug at Blaise’s legs. The arraneum pedaled in place, wincing as he felt one of his hairs tugged out of his legs.

“Tomorrow, tomorrow!” The man repeated, jumping around until his legs were finally released from the tiny hands of his children. He sighed, and then straightened himself up again. “That means we should all rest up today and save our energy. It’s not going to be easy, especially for someone that doesn’t have any legs or webs to hang on.”

“I can do it, dad!” Martin squeaked. “I’m a good climber, and Rosalie’s a good swimmer!”

“You are.” Blaise chuckled. “I hope you like swimming too, Martin. We’re probably going to be eating a lot of frogs and fish for a month.”

Rosalie butted her brother out of the way, hips wiggling back and forth excitedly. “I love fish, I’ll eat lots and lotsa fish if I have to!”

“Me too, me too!” Martin chimed.

Blaise tapped each of the tiny naga on the head with his forelegs, nudging them off. “Alright, I got it.” He told them. “Both of you should rest up, though. No rough housing today, or you’ll start the whole thing off tired.”

“Okay!” The pair chimed in unison. They slithered off, out of the cave and into the grass to do exactly the opposite of what they’d been told. It couldn’t be helped, Blaise thought to himself. He let out a heavy breath, and turned to Louise. She sat in the nest, hair and features frazzled with the sudden explosion of excitement. Blaise tapped her on the head with his foot as well.

“Are you really okay with this? If you think you need more time, then we can-”

“No. We should go. The three of us would make ourselves sick out in the summer sun moving like that” Louise cut him off as he was speaking. “There’s no way that we can make this any easier on ourselves, and if it rains...” She sighed. “Well, then I guess we’ll have to get wet. Just as long as we’ll be finding a better roof to put over our heads.”

“And we will be.” Blaise added.

Louise nodded her head. She moved, sitting up with her back against the rock wall. She pulled her tail up and hugged it, laying her cheek down on the scale. “Besides, this is what Clovis would have wanted us to do.” She laughed under her breath. “I can almost hear him asking that we could leave today instead of tomorrow.”

Blaise’s features shifted to a bittersweet grin. He breathed deep. “Yeah... This is what he wanted to do the most, up until the end. I think that it’s going to be best for all of us.”

Nodding once again, Louise stared off into some undesignated corner of stone. But in a few seconds, her ears perked up. With a hand clasped over her aching back, she slithered to the back of the cave. Blaise cocked his head to one side as she reached up and groped around the shelf in the rock where he’d left the sewing kit and-

Subconsciously, his lips formed a small ‘o’. Louise pulled the box of thread down, holding a tiny sliver of bone between the fingers of her other hand. She frowned at it, rolling it between her forefinger and thumb. “You wanted me to make this into a bead for your necklace, didn’t you?” She asked in a voice small enough to keep her words from leaking out of the cave.

Blaise sputtered. “If you don’t want to, then... If it hurts, you don’t have to do it.” He told her, nervously circling one foot around on the floor.  

“I want to.” She said. “I’ll put a hole in it and put it on your necklace tonight.”

“...Right.” Blaise murmured his reply. He came to stand by her, rubbing her shoulder. “I know you’ll love it there, Louise. It’ll make take a little bit of getting used to. For everyone. But you’ll finally get to see what it’s like to be a part of a community that isn’t feel of bad people.”

“Yeah...” Louise whispered. “I still remember finding this place. It wasn’t long after I was split up with Marie.”

“Marie... That arraneum girl?” Blaise inquired. “ You never know, maybe we’ll see her again. Girls have good noses, she probably sniffed the place out and followed the stream there.”

Louise groaned, expression twisting downward. “She’ll probably kick my ass if she sees me again.”

Blaise coughed, sputtering in surprise. “Why would she do that?”

The naga looked down, ears pinned back. “You’ve never met Marie. You might not know it, but not all of these scars came from humans.” She informed him, a somewhat terrified expression on her face as she pulled back the memories. “I mean, she had good intentions, but it really hurt when she’d smack me.”  

“Yeah...” The arraneum mused. What a strange woman, he thought. Arraneum women were a bit rough around the edges, but nothing quite like Louise described. Though, he supposed that one would have to toughen up while shoved inside of a box.

He felt the heat of Louise’s flesh part from his fingers. She sat down again, resting her head and tucking the sewing away beneath a few furs. That much would keep away from the curious eyes of the children. Blaise joined his lover in their bed, wrapping around her again. He kissed her cheek, drawing her attention away from the tooth in her palm.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t have sex like you wanted. There isn’t much time now...” He pecked her ear. “But I know plenty of good spots where we can be alone, first thing when we get there. I can’t wait to touch you like that again.”

He could feel heat radiate from Louise’s skin as she flushed. She shook it off, and kissed Blaise’s cheek in return. “I miggght not be able to hold myself back for so long, but I’ll try to resist.” She cooed to him.

“You’ll be too tired... But, you look good when you’re soaking wet.” Blaise chuckled, showering her in kissed. Louise giggled like a child, kissing him back between ear-spread smiles.

 

...

 

The following morning, Blaise woke the naga up at dawn, just as he’d promised. His necklace bore extra weight, and he feared that all four of them might have been met with a slightly heavy heart. They stood in the clearing together, staring silently at the cave. The memories inside of the stone seemed to seep out of it and into the fog. He’d confessed his love in the stone, seen his eggs lain and his children born, watched his son die between the walls of the cavern. Now, the cavern lie empty but for a strand of web that swayed at the top of its mouth. The wind groaned as it rolled through the empty hole in the mountain, and Blaise breathed slowly with it.

“This is it.” He exhaled the words softly. His children had crowded around their mother’s side, now a bit more anxious than excited. Blaise turned to them. “It’ll be okay. It’s just a couple of rough weeks, and then we’ll have a lot of happy years in front of us.”

Louise nodded. The pair of toddlers followed.

“Alright then. We’d better get moving then, the sooner the better. We won’t have any

water until we reach the pond where the creek ends in a few hours.” The man held his head up, and turned away from the cave. Martin and Rosalie followed, slithering at the heels of his back two feet.

Louise stood, staring at the mouth of the cave for a long moment. She grimaced, and took off to follow her family. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please remember to leave comments and kudos if you liked the story <3


	31. Chapter 31

The journey from Blaise’s lonely cave to the colony of arraneum was much more than a trot from point one to point two. Every other day the rain seem to pour down on them, mercilessly drenching their heads.  The family slept huddled together each night, sometimes having no choice but to wake up with half of their body coated in mud. But they kept warm, cllinging to what few furs Blaise had carried with him. It was an uphill trek, and Blaise more than once had to help the legless naga claw their ways up ledges that they otherwise couldn’t have made it past. Their bones ached, and their hair was heavy with mud and tangled-in twigs. But as the sun retreated down past the horizon, they sat by the edge of the stream leading them home, pulling tiny fish bones out from between their smiles.

But, it seemed that the closer they came, the less at ease Blaise felt. Whether it was the snap of the twig in the distance, or the wind tricking him into believing that there was a fifth breath among them, at times he found his skin crawling. This place wasn’t his- anything could be out there, waiting, licking its chops to prey on any one of them.

The arraneum stood in the middle of a field, wading through high grass. The pants were thick, tugging at his legs like he were moving through water. Blaise parted the stalks of wild onion and ragweed out of the way, his feet sinking deeper and deeper into the mud with every step. and His breath began to escape his lungs in pants, and sweat dripped from his nose. Despite the effort, his legs kept dragging him forward, trudging through a field that didn’t seem to end.

Over Blaise’s head, clouds rolled in at an amazing pace. He heard the sky and woods speak, the thunder growling against the moaning of the trees. The storm clouds grew thicker and darker, blanketing out the sun. Blaise’s form became smothered in darkness. He grunted. Now the mud became so wet that he sank down almost to his knees, sucked further into the dirt by the blades of grass surrounding him.

“Louise?” He called out. The wind tried to knock him down, but the mud kept him standing. “Louise, Martin, Rosalie!” His lonely voice echoed out into the woods. “Where’d you go?!”

His face snapped forward. The sound of branches cracking shot out into the meadow as the force of the wind began to rip them apart. Or, so Blaise thought at first. He heard the loud suctioning noises of footsteps in the wet drawing closer, moving in a horrid pattern of one-two, one-two. Blaise fought against the mud- freeing one leg, then forcing another deeper into the sodden earth. He huffed, eyes still locked on the treeline ahead of him.

In the midst of his struggle, Blaise gagged. A rotten scent came along with the steps that drew nearer to him. He coughed and struggled in the earth’s wet trap, until he could feel the earth shake with the weight of whatever came closer. He stopped- eyes meeting with two red spots that sat parallel with the forest canopy ahead of him. He trembled, both he and the figure hiding in the shadows frozen in place. The stench emnating from the creature matched its diabolical aura, making Blaise’s stomach churn vomit.

With a step that rattled the earth, the thing emerged from the trees. It stood on two feet, legs made from the ghostly white flesh of a man, then stained black with mud. The human feet led up to coarse, dark hair that clung t the rest of the thing’s frame. Sections of its flesh had opened and started to fester, rotten holes in its flesh dripping out of its fur and down to the ground. Blaise’s eyes followed the horrific frame up farther, by a dozen feet at least. He observed fur-covered hands, exposed bone and maggots wriggling out from the veins of the wretched giant. He met with red eyes again, the face of a giant, yellow-fanged buck scowling back at him. Its head was adorned with a crown of metal horns- Blaise recognized them as the twisted, knotted barrels of guns. The glimmering barrels twisted out of the thing’s skull, pushing back through parts of its flesh and adding to the rot.

Blaise stared up at the creature, wheezing, and then curling his lips back to howl in terror. The abomination staggered closer to him. It pulled both feet from the mud with ease, while in his panic, Blaise sank down deeper. He screeched and flailed, coughing up bile as the odor bore at the walls of his nose.

The thing wrapped its vile claws around Blaise’s neck, holding the writhing man in place. Blaise could hear bones pop beneath its flesh while it descended, leaning down to hover its face above his. The buck head opened its mouth, steel clanking as it descended out, the barrel of a pistol staring at him in place of the thing’s tongue. Blaise turned his head away, eyes pried open, staring into the black barrel of the gun.

“You didn’t listen to me.”

Tears burst out of Blaise’s eye sockets, dripping down and off of his quivering body. He could feel his own neck pulse in the demon’s merciless grip. This was it. This thing was going to kill him, this sick cross between man and the forest, and he’d have no way to fight it back. He turned away, unable to muster up any kind of plead for the monster to save his life.

Then, it began to shake him, holding Blaise’s neck and tossing him around like a ragdoll. Everything went black. When he could force his eyes back open, he was met with the dazzling light of the sun. The light became blocked by a shadow, and as Blaise’s eyes focused, he made out Louise’s features hovering over his face.

The naga tapped his cheek repeatedly. “Blaise, are you awake? Wake up...!”

The arraneum nodded with a tiny grunt. He shuffled, and Louise moved out of the way. With his movement he could feel the chill of sweat clinging to his skin, the rapid thrusting of his heart still rattling his ribcage. He propped his body up on two elbows, and took a deep breath. Martin and Rosalie had crowded around his back legs, gawking at him with troubled eyes.

“You were shouting and coughing in your sleep.” Louise said. “You okay? Sounds like you were having a nightmare.” She questioned, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Blaise calmed himself down, pushing his heart rate back to a slower gait. “I’m alright, just a bad dream.” He assured her. Then, he rolled over, pulling himself up. “Alright then, let’s catch some fish and then get a move on. If we start moving first thing today, then we can be there by tomorrow afternoon. We’re really close!” He stated, doing his best to sound chipper.

Louise raised herself higher on her tail to stand. “I don’t know, Blaise. Maybe we should stop for today. You don’t look so good.”

The arraneum shook his head. “I’m alright if you three are alright. It was just a bad dream.” He protested. “We can rest tomorrow night- then we’ll finally be home.” He smiled, though Louise still came across as worried. “Trust me, Louise. It’s alright.”

The woman sighed. “Alright then. You’re sure we’re almost there?”

“I’m absolutely certain.” He stated.

“Right then. Martin, Rosalie, let’s go catch some fish.” Louise poked both of the children with the end of her tail, urging the pair of them to follow her. They slithered after, vanishing into a small thicket that lead to the stream. Meanwhile, Blaise collected their nets. He stopped, and looked out into the forest. For a second, he almost thought that something red peered back at him through the branches.

 

...

 

The four of them ate in the morning, and started walking along the bank of the stream. They moved for most of the day, moving into the water when the stone was too hot or too thin to traverse, and then back up to land. The smell that was carried by the water was familiar to Blaise’s nostrils. They weren’t far at all. But, it was still going to be one more day. He and Louise carried one child each for a mile, and finally called it quits. They settled down in a small clear spot, resting their bodies in the grass.

Blaise shifted his head, lying in the grass with his stomach pressed to the ground. “We’re almost there.” He told them. “Tomorrow for sure.”

“Mhm.” Louise hummed.

The arraneum blinked slowly. “Hey, Louise? Let’s go back over to the water and catch a few fish. Martin and Rosalie can stay here and sleep for a little while.”

“Do you think they’re alright by themselves?” She questioned, turning to the pair of sleeping children beside them.

“Sure. They’ll just be a few feet away. And we’ll be back before they wake up.” He hoisted himself out of the grass, moving over to help pull Louise up as well. She stood, and he took her hand. Pulling her along through the tiny wood and back to the water’s edge, he sat down with her along the bank.

“Blaise.” The naga said his name as they sat. “”I thought you said you wanted to fish...?”

“Not yet.” Blaise replied.

Blaise turned to Louise, taking both of her hands again. He gulped, face turning flush. “I wanted us to be alone for a few minutes. There’s something that I should tell you before we make it there tomorrow.”

The naga blinked, curiously cocking her head to one side. “What’s that?”

Blaise looked down at his forefeet for a second, and then back up to Louise’s eyes. “I wanted to say that... Well, it’s hard for me to say.” He paused. “But, there’s a story that sometimes people lose parts of themselves as they grow up. Some people are whole for their entire lives, and others might have a hole, or two or three holes, that need to be filled.” He put his hand to his chest. “People with broken pieces meet others that are rough around the edges. And the jagged pieces of our souls fit into each other. They’re destined to be together one way or another, whether they’re friends, children, brothers or sisters...”

He shook Louise’s hand, face red. “And sometimes they’re people who are in love with each other. A-and they’re supposed to be with together!” By now, his voice had started to waver, and Louise’s expression had shifted to surprise. “I wanted to you to know that I don’t ever want to be apart from you for a second, and I want to spend every single day until I die with you, Louise. I love you so, so much, and I want to be with you and see Martin and Rosalie grow up and have babies of their own, and I think that for some reason, we’re supposed to be here together.”

Blaise stopped, cheeks red and hair frazzled from his confession. Louise looked to be in a similar state- ears pinned back and flush evident beneath her dark flesh. For a second, there was a tense silence, until the naga turned her face away bashfully. Blaise jumped- bashful wasn’t a word that could have described her often.

“Gosh...” The woman murmured. “Where’s the ring then?”

Blaise blinked. “Ring?”

She chuckled, turning back to him. “Sorry, you wouldn’t understand.” She pulled him closer, letting go of his hands to embrace him. Blaise felt the end of her tail snake around his foreleg, and he was able to let his head rest on her shoulder. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you too.”

The man grinned, rubbing his nose into her neck. “Promise you won’t find a better man that I am and fall in love with him?”

“I couldn’t, not for the world.” Louise murmured back to him. “I love you. Thank you for all of this.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Blaise told her. “I need to stop being a coward and go back to where I was meant to be. I was wrong to think I could spend my whole life running away from other people. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“You’ve sure grown a lot since I’ve met you, yknow.” Louise remarked.

“You too.”

The two of them laughed for a few moments, still tangled together. Blaise felt the woman lean into him, chirping in his ear, breasts hot as they connected with his chest. He groaned, and urged the woman back away from him.

“Not yet. Just one more day, then you’re free to do whatever you want.” The arraneum told her. Louise let out a low whine in protest, but pulled back. “Why don’t you go back and watch the kids. I’ll go and see about catching some dinner that isn’t fish for once, ‘kay?” He stood again, shaking the dust out of his legs. Louise joined him, nodding her head.

“Alright, just don’t get lost. There are plenty of bears and mountain lions hiding out around here.” She advised. Then, she pushed herself up, pecking the arraneum on the cheek. Blaise grinned, returning the affection.

“I’ll be okay. Be right back.”

With that, he turned away. When he left, Louise’s eyes had looked to be full of stars. It was a look that reminded him of the one she’d had when their children had hatched. Happiness like she was rarely willing to show. The thought of her joyful eyes made Blaise’s feet feel lighter. He cantered along, occasionally marking a tree with a spot of web to keep track of where he’d been.

As he looked for a clearing to hunt from, Blaise daydreamed. He thought of all the people he’d left behind; familiar faces that would be so shocked, maybe even happy, to see his again. Children he hadn’t met that would grow to be best friends with his own, and men who he’d blushed at the sight of. He couldn’t think of looking at them with that kind of gaze now. He even thought of his mother, and if she’d miraculously survived during his absence. Though, if she’d passed on or remained in the world, he’d be just as happy. He wished for a second that he could have returned and bragged to Parnell.

At last, he stumbled upon a tiny meadow. He hunkered down, waiting in the grass for prey to come along. This part of the forest was quiet. So much so that it started to become unsettling. To distract himself from the eerie silence, Blaise began to pull web out and form it into a net.

An agonized bleat rang through the forest. Blaise jumped up at the sound, head popping out of the bushes. The screeches of agony came closer, and a doe burst out of the clearing. It wailed, falling into the grass. Blaise ran to it, catching his fur in the bush and pulling hairs off into the branches. In shock he watched the creature kick and flail. It looked mad, seizing in the grass, tearing into the earth in its pain. Blaise stamped the neck of the terrified creature, afraid that he’d be kicked if he used his hands. With one final wail, the doe died, its neck crushed.

Blaised breathed heavily as the animal twitched. He looked back and forth, up and down the animal. It was a very healthy doe by what he could tell. Her fur didn’t appear damaged, not but for a single trail of blood that oozed from a tiny hole in her chest.  Blaise knelt to inspect the wound that had driven the poor animal mad. His first thought was worms- he’d heard stories of giant maggots boring into the meat of animal’s bodies and eating to the inside.

He pressed his fingers into the wound. It was deep, tearing in just above the heart. Any deeper and the creature would have been dead long before it came into Blaise’s path. He felt something different from bone at the bottom of the hole. Using two fingers, he forced it out of the deer’s body. Covered in gore, he couldn’t quite tell what the thing he’d pulled out was. He dropped it into his clean hand, examining it. Tiny, hard... Almost like a little rock. But how could a pebble have done something like this, he wondered?

The birds in the direction of where the deer had come from flew off.

“Oh my god.” Blaise dropped the object. He flashed back to images of the tree by the pond, the hole, the tiny black object that had bored into its trunk. “Oh my god...!” He whispered again, growing frantic. His heart pounded against his chest, and his body fled before his brain could think to. But, as his brain kicked in, he realized that his body had taken him back towards Louise and the children. He stopped, and did a complete turn back in the other direction.

Blaise heaved and panted, running as fast as his legs could carry him away. He heard branches snapping, wings flapping, the sound of his own heart beating his ribs as it worked to keep him moving. He cried out as something stung him in the abdomen, sprinting across logs and grass.

He ran. Then he walked. Then he crawled, forcing his legs to move with every bit of strength he had. Blaise’s body was no longer his own, and it collapsed into the dirt. He heard footsteps in a disgusting rotation of one-two, one-two, drawing closer.

Blue eyes peered down from above and down into his, and everything went black. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of part 1! Next week should come the intermission, which may or may not have an illustration due to the fact that it's going to be a relatively large chapter. Then onto part 2 >:3c Thanks for reading!


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before reading, I want to apologize if the quality of this chapter is poor. It serves as an intermission between the first and second parts of the story, and it took a lot of energy for me to write. I've had a severe lack of creative muse for ifs lately, as well as some creatively-based anxiety and sadness. But, I hope you'll enjoy it regardless.

“Blaise!”

Leaves rustled as Louise wandered through the forest. Once she spotted the first mark, she began following the trail of webs that Blaise had left on tacked onto the trees. Dark had nearly come now, and the arraneum hadn’t shown any sign of return. So she left the children to search for him. “Blaaaaissse! I told you not to get lost, you stupid bug!” She bellowed into the forest. Her own voice echoed back to her. Frustrated and filled with worry, she moved past the next marked tree. Shaking her head, she continued slithering forward. “Gonna beat that boy’s ass soon as I find him...”

She came to a clearing. He couldn’t be far off from here, Louise told herself. She moved into the tiny meadow, wading past the bushes, and then turned her head. In the corner of her eye she caught a tiny fleck of Blue. Turning back around to investigate, Louise examined a tuft of azure fur that had likely been torn from Blaise’s abdomen. She peered at it, picking it up between her fingers and rolling it around.

“Was he... Running from something?” She whispered. As the words left her, a huff of air came from the other side of the meadow. Louise jumped, dropping the clump of hair. Another deep breath crept from the other side, the source hidden somewhere in the trees. She exited the bushes again, head lowered with caution as she pulled her tail through the grass. “...Blaise?” With a quivering lip, she mumbled the arraneum’s name.

Louise slithered over a damp spot, and looked down. Blood stained the grass where she stood. Her stomach turned, and she turned to look ahead again. Something smacked and chewed in the grass ahead, hiding in the dark cover the trees. “Blaise... Is that you...?”

Snapping towards her, the eyes of a bear cut into Louise’s from within the bush. The woman gasped, eyes flickering down. A bloody, half-eaten mass of fur lie beneath the animal’s jaws.

Blaise had been caught.

Now he was dead.

It was all gone. Everything gone.

She screamed, and the bear roared. The trees around them shook from the noise. Louise took off back in the direction that she’d come, wheezing and huffing frantically. She stopped when she came to a stump, tripping over it and falling to the ground. Tears hit the dirt as she did, and the naga panted with sudden panic. Her eyes had the sight of the half-eaten body pasted behind them.

For several moments, she continued to wheeze with lungs that spasmed in panic. “No, no no no no no!” She rattled. Pushing herself up, she stumbled and caught herself on the tree stump. “This can’t be happening...!”

Louise collapsed onto the wood, burying her face in her arms. The woman wailed; a cocktail of grief, anger, and shock tearing its way free from her throat. She sobbed without restraint, pounding her fist against the wood like a child. This wasn’t fair! Blaise couldn’t be dead, not now! They were so close to having the life that they’d wanted- and now it had slipped between their fingers, meaningless as sand.  

Forgetting that there was a world outside of her broken mind, Louise let the world go dark around her. Little more than a ray of sun poked through the forest when the sound of breaking twigs came through to her. For fear that it was another bear, Louise cowered behind the log. She peered over it- but instead, heard a voice.

“Mommy! Mommy, where are you?” A voice came through the woods.

She’d forgotten about the children. A second wave of grief slammed her upon realizing that knowledge that she’d left them defenseless and hungry. They came closer, following her cries through the lightless forest.

“Mommy?” Martin’s head poked out first, immediately followed by that of his sister. They approached her as Louise took a seat on the stump. The two children were guided by a sense that something had gone wrong, slowly approaching their mother. Martin put a hand on his mother’s belly, and Rosalie leaned against it. “Mommy... Did you find Daddy?”

“Are you hurt Mommy?” Rosalie joined in. “Why are you crying so much?”

Louise leaned over and pulled the two children up closer, letting them sit on her lap. She hiccupped. It was hard to figure out just what she was supposed to say. The burden of being a mother bore down on her, and the responsibilty to tell them the truth squeezed at her battered heart.

“Daddy... Daddy went to go take care of your brother.” She whimpered.

“What do you mean?” Martin asked, voice cracking.

“He’s gone now, Martin. A bear found him.”

“Daddy got eaten?” Rosalie whined. Both children’s faces grew red, and their eyes wet. “No, that can’t happen! Mommy, where’d he go?” The girl shook louise’s arm. “Where is he Mommy, when’s Daddy coming home?”

Martin sobbed, and it only took a fraction of a second for Rosalie to cry out as well. Louise curled over, clutching both of them tight to her chest. Her skin could barely muffle the howls, and nothing could hold her own grief back.

Night fell, and the tiny family clung to each other as tight as they could. They sobbed over the howls of the coyotes and the hoots of the owls. Louise could hardly muster up words to comfort her children until they’d cried their throats raw, sitting awake in her lap with half-lidded eyes.

“Mama’s still here.” She whispered with a sniffle. “Mama’s gonna take you home, we’re gonna go home with all the other arraneums. Just like Daddy and Clovis wanted.”

“Why’d they have to die then?” Martin whined. “It isn’t fair...”

“I want Daddy back.” Rosalie whimpered along with him.  

Louise grimaced, hiding her face in the dark. “It’s alright.” She whispered. “Death is only the beginning. But for now, we’ve got to keep moving forward.” The woman kissed both of her children on the head, lifting them up with her as she stood. “Alright, it’s bedtime.”

Martin sniffled. “We don’t gotsa a bed to sleep in, I forgot the furs. I’m sorry...”

Louise bent over, lying both of the toddlers in the grass. “That’s alright sweetie, we’ll be okay. You two can sleep up against my tail, it should be nice and warm.” Now she worked her own way down to the ground, extending her lower body and nudging the pair to come in closer. Slowly, they settled in by her belly, and Louise wrapped around them loosely. But tiny hiccups continued to come from her children.

She curled up around them, wrapping both bodies up in her own, and opened her mouth to sing teary lullabies until they finally found sleep.

She didn’t.

 

The next morning was cool, and Louise’s body was wet from the dew on the grass. While her eyes sat open, staring out into nothing, she felt dead. She couldn’t move, as if the stiffness of death had already taken her. Her breaths came in long, shallow rotations that could barely be seen, and only ever now and again did the end of one finger twitch to prove that her brain was still working. Grief filled and paralyzed her muscles, leaving her to lie aware, yet still as death.

When a shuffle came from the belly side of her tail, her head didn’t shift by a degree. Martin and Rosalie got up together, quickly recognizing that their mother, though still, sat with eyes wide open.

“Mommy...?” Rosalie murmured first, throat hoarse from the night before. She grabbed the woman’s shoulder with both hands, shaking her.

“What’s wrong with her?” Martin asked, voice tiny as well. “Rosalie, is she sick?”

“I dunno!” The girl snapped back. She shook her mother again. “Mommy, get up! You’ve gotsa get up...!”

Louise finally mustered the strength to blink, dry eyes burning as they were moistened. “...Be quiet for a while, Rosalie. We’ll go tomorrow.” Words rattled out of her throat, voice barely ghosting the air.

Rosalie responded with a frustrated groan. She smacked her tail against the ground, fists moving straight down to her sides. “No, we gotta go now!” She snapped. The child grabbed Louise’s arm, pulling and pushing, trying to heave her off of the ground. “Martin, help me!” She barked at her brother. The boy fumbled, but slithered to his sister’s side to push at their mother. Louise responded like a bag of meat, only sighing from the discomfort of being pushed about.

With another growl, Rosalie pulled up with all her strength. “Get up, get up, get up!” She shrieked. But as her muscles gave in, Louise’s body fell back down to the ground, and the woman didn’t even turn to face them.

Bonk!

Louise jerked as a fist came down on her skull. Sparked to life by the sharp pain, she snapped back to see Rosalie with her fist still raised. The child cried, face vicious as a baby’s could be, tears and snot reflecting the sun. “You stupid, stupid Mommy!” She screeched, voice breaking. “Daddy didn’t die so you could be so sad! You said big brother wanted us to go see the other arraneums too, we have to go right now, or else they’ll never ever be happy!”

Martin grabbed his sister with both arms, pulling her back as she poised to strike again. “Rosalie, don’t hit!” He squeaked.

Their mother ascended, standing between the pair and the sun. Rosalie whimpered in sudden fear, and she hiccupped. “I’m sorry Mommy...!” She pushed away from her brother, throwing herself up against her mother to embrace her. Louise curled over, doing the same for her daughter. “I wanna go and sleep in a den like Daddy said we would, I don’t want you to cry all day Mommy, I’m sorry!” She wept, muffled by the woman’s belly.

“Don’t be sorry, I needed a good smack.” Louise cooed. “Mommy’s fine now. Let’s go back to the stream, and we’ll get going. Tonight we’ll be sleeping in a nice, cozy bed with all of the other arraneums.” As she spoke, Louise pulled her son into the embrace as well. When she straightened her back, she took their hands, walking along with them. While she acted as if she were guiding the two of them along, they were the ones keeping her from collapsing back into another depressed heap.

They stopped in the stream to drink, reclaiming their abandoned nets. Louise picked the extra one from the ground, holding it gingerly in her hands. He stabbed it into the ground, letting the webs on its end float in the breeze. Still a small remnant of Blaise’s life, she left it there as a symbol of where he’d departed. It hurt to wash away her children’s tear-trails, bringing up drops of the stream to pour over their faces. Neither of them were quite tall enough to clean hers.

The long-since boring taste of fish met their lips as well, but at least their stomachs were full. Louise took their hands again, and the three followed the stream’s bank. The water became deep and fast, and the hill they crawled on only became steeper. An hour of working her sore body left Louise heaving breath, and the two children struggled to even keep standing.

Rosalie tripped over a stick, and the other two stopped. Her arms quivered as she lifted herself up, faltering and falling back down again. Louise slithered over to her, picking her up. She turned back and pulled Martin up as well, tucking both of them under her arms and up against her chest.

Martin panted, weakly pushing at Louise’s arms. “Don’t... I can still go Mommy, I can keep going...” He breathed.

“Me too, let me down...” Rosalie joined in, breathing fast like a dog.

Louise shook her head. “You two deserve a rest, I’m fine.” She grunted. The naga trudged up the hill, panting, dripping with sweat, heart beating painfully fast in her chest. Up and up the hill she travelled, all the while carrying her children in her quivering arms. She grit her teeth, and pushed forward.

‘Blaise wouldn’t have quit.’ Louise thought. ‘Blaise wouldn’t want me to quit, Clovis wouldn’t want me to stop. I didn’t spend twenty years in a box letting sweaty old men touch my belly to give up now!’ She shouted at the walls of her own mind, scraping away at every inch of the mountain. “This is what I told myself I had to do...” She wheezed out loud. “I decided that... That I wanted to be a mother, and this is what I have to do...!”

After she spoke, a gasp came from one of the children. “Mommy, look!” Martin pointed to the path ahead.

Finally, illuminated by the sun as if it were gold, a strand of arraneum web appeared before them on the path ahead.

Louise laughed, sliding forward with new energy. Martin and Rosalie clung to her, grinning wide. They passed more web, footprints, coming to level ground. A thunderous sound emnated from up ahead; meeting their ears.

“Mommy, what’s that noise?” Rosalie asked.

The older naga laughed. “It’s a waterfall! Blaise said there was a waterfall!” She sang, running forward. There was light, a clearing! She sped towards it; no longer could she feel the webs sticking to her, the rocks under her scales, the scratching branches against her flesh.

With leaves flying around her, Louise burst out of the woods. Sun poured down over her and her children, and her eyes adjusted to a heavenly sight. Arraneum of all sizes and colors were gathered around a lake at the base of a waterfall, sitting together and chatting on like birds. Men and woman walked together, and children splashed about in the water, laughing over the noise of the churning water. Tears erupted from Louise’s eyes, the salty trails of joy dripping down her face.

“We’re home.”

Her elated murmur was met with a shriek. The peaceful scene became one of shock, shocked eyes hitting her like darts. Louise hastily placed the two children back onto the ground, feeling them quickly grab onto her tail to hide behind her. Trembling fingers came to rest on their heads, and she stood trembling and frozen as the arraneum peered back at her. Now the children were running to their mothers, and several men had already taken off out of the clearing.

Louise gulped. A woman began to approach her. Standing several heads about the naga, she approached on spindly legs that may as well have been stilettos. Stopping, she blocked out the sun from the naga’s face, towering above the trio of naga with a scowl fierce enough to sting. She extended one leg, observing Louise as she flinched to the prod of her foot.  Her head cocked to one side, and she examined the two children. Four pupils in each eye, they shifted independent of each other, gazing on them curiously.

“What are you?” The woman questioned them in a solid voice.

“I’m- We’re naga.” Louise meeped, eyes wrenched shut.

“Are you with humans?”

The cowering woman shook her head. “No, another arraneum led me here.”

“Who?”

“B-Blaise, a man named Blaise.”

An uneasy murmur began to drift amongst the arraneum in the clearing. Louise opened one eye, squinting as she looked to the arraneum woman’s expression. Shock was painted clear on her face, harsh demeanor replaced with surprise.

“...Blaise? The one with the round ears?” The arraneum asked. Louise nodded her head quickly, and was parted out of the way. Rosalie squeaked as she was prodded on the head with the other creature’s foot. “And this one...” The woman continued to murmur.

“They’re his!” Louise interjected. “They’re both of ours, I mean.”

The arraneum pressed her foot back into the ground. “With the child’s hair like that, I believe you. So he didn’t die out there.”

Louise opened both eyes, a tiny string of ease plucked from her anxiety. “You know him?”

“Of course, everyone knew that one. Human faces on arraneum bodies don’t pass by unnoticed here. But when he ran off into the woods, we all thought that he’d be dead.” The stranger explained. Now Louise had begun to shrink down again, feeling the children lean harder against her as well. “Where’s he now then? Right behind you?”

“No, he won’t be coming.” Louise mumbled. “He died on the way here. A bear caught him.”

“Ah-” The arraneum gasped. But then, her brow curved down again, and she grabbed Louise’s arm with a stern grip. “Everything aside, I’m taking you to the Matriarch so we can decide what to do with you.” Without further ado, she began to yank Louise along. Martin and Rosalie fumbled but followed along, hurriedly slithering behind their mother. All eyes followed them along, and Louise sputtered without any way to find real words.

“Mommy, I’m scared.” Martin peeped as they moved into a thin neck of woods.

“It’s okay.” Louise breathed. Now the exhaustion from their hard day of travel crawled up her body, and she could hardly keep up with the woman tugging her forward. They were brought out of the forest again, and into another clearing. Holes lined the ground, and webs hung from the trees like houses, arraneum sleeping lazy in them. But, as eyes touched Louise’s form, voices rose and unease filled the air. As others began to follow, the arraneum leading the group of naga snapped back.

“Stay back!” She barked. “Everyone keep away, I’m taking her to have her looked at by the Matriarch.” They took off again, leaving the other arraneum to whisper.

“Who’s the Matriarch?” Louise questioned, shoulder now sore from being pulled so tight.

“She’s the oldest, and she’s the wisest out of all of us. If anyone knows what to do with you, then it’ll be her.” Came the answer. Louise gulped. Finally they began to slow down, and she was brought to the mouth of a wide, dusty den. Webs lined the center, and the core of the hole became so black that it was near impossible to see more than a few feet inside.

“M’aam?” The arraneum bent over, calling for the woman inside.

A cough echoed out of the den, shaking the webs at its mouth ever so gently. “Yes?” Came an old, yet not so feeble voice.

“There are outsiders here.” The younger woman stated.

“Humans, or arraneum?”

The woman holding Louise’s arm turned, scanning the three up and down. “Neither. She says she’s something called a naga.”

“Oh?” There was a rumbling sound from inside the den, and dust poured up out of it in a cloud. A spot of grey appeared from the black hole, silvery hair connected to the head of a woman. Her face was worn, and as her spindly body came out from the hole, Louise could see patches where her shell hadn’t shed properly. Faded blue eyes peered down at them, the arraneum tall even with a bent back.

“I see...” The old arraneum spoke in a gentle tone. She turned to Louise, and examined her up and down. “A woman and a pair of hatchlings, then? Strange, naga aren’t native to these mountains.” With a sigh, the Matriarch moved to a patch of clover lying several feet away. She sat down, tapping the grass with her foot. “Come now woman, and tell me why it is that you’ve come to us. And don’t spare any detail, I’m curious. The only way that a naga could have migrated to these mountains is by human introduction.”

The younger arraneum gasped. “So she is with the humans?!” She growled.

“Now now, just because she was released here doesn’t mean that she has ill-will towards us.”

“Hmph.” The younger huffed.

Louise gulped. She crowded Martin and Rosalie around her side, one hand on each of their shoulder. “...M’aam, I’m sorry to bother you.” She stammered. “But if you want to know everything, can I please ask for my children to be excused? I don’t want them to hear some of what I need to say.”

“Very well. Agatha, take them and keep them from the others for now. If you have any meat, share with the poor things, they’re emaciated.”

“Ah...” Louise opened her mouth. Now, looking at the arraneum around her, she was right. Both herself and her children were filthy, thin, and covered in marks of injury. The other arraneum drew close, Agatha from what Louise understood. But as she came to scoop up the children, she was met by a violent little spitting noise. Martin and Rosalie both had ears pinned back, hissing and baring their tiny fangs at the hand that came near to them. Martin growled, and Rosalie hissed with every inch that shrank between herself and Agatha.

“Shut up, both of you!” Louise snapped. The children paused, and shrank down against. “Be nice to her, she’s going to take you and keep you somewhere safe for now. Mommy’s gonna talk to this lady here, and then we’ll figure out where to sleep for tonight.” She cooed,stroking their heads. “It’s okay. I promise.”

The tiny pair stared up at her with puppy-dog gazes, but when they were pulled up, they didn’t give any protest but a sob. Louise waved her hand as they were carried off, and her gut sank when they left her sight. Immediately she turned to the old arraneum, nails poised to her lips. “Are they going to be okay? Will she hurt them?”

“Not in the slightest, don’t you worry child.” The old one assured her. “You can call me Erza.” She picked a clover from the ground, spinning the flower between her fingers. “So, I assume that you mated with one of us from the look of your child. Are they from the same clutch?”

“Yes they are.” Louise meeped. “Their names are Martin and Rosalie... And I’m Louise.”

“Louise... That’s a nice name.” Erza nodded slowly. “It wouldn’t surprise me for a human to breed an arraneum and a naga and then release them into the wild. I’m sorry you had to suffer such a fate.”

Louise shook her head. “No, they came after.”

The arraneum cocked an eyebrow. “After?”

“Yes. Their father is... Was a man named Blaise.”

Erza dropped the clover. “Blaise? Oh dear... I should have assumed that much, I’d almost forgotten about him. Poor boy ran away from us when the human and arraneum parts of him came too much into conflict with each other. You mean to tell me he survived?”

“Yes. He...” Louise clenched her fists. “He almost made it here. Last night he was eaten by a bear.” Now her eyes hurt, tear ducts straining to push the water out. “We lived together in a cave for several years.”

“I see...” Erza looked to the ground. “It’s a shame that the gods didn’t spare him another day.”

Louise gave a tiny sob. “It’s alright. I understand that this is just how the forest works.”

The old woman nodded. “I see he taught you well about our ways then. Go on, tell me how you came to be in these mountains then.”

Wasting no time, Louise bowed her head. “I was born in California, by the ocean. I lived in a forest with trees as tall as this mountain. I had a mother,father, and two siblings. When I was a little more than two years old, humans came and lured me with a piece of meat.” She paused to take a breath. “I was taken into a circus, thrown in a cage, and carted around on a train. When I was twelve I started to go into heat for the first time, and once my breasts started to come in... Then human men would sneak around the back, and they paid the ringmaster money to use my body however they wanted.”

“How long did this go on?” The arraneum interjected.

“Twenty years.” Louise replied.

“What a shame... And you never became pregnant with the child of a human?”

The naga shook her head. “No. They didn’t want me to have children, so they made sure to keep everyone away while I was going through my season. But... That doesn’t mean I didn’t have some close calls.”

“Mmm... Continue.”

Louise nodded. “When I was fifteen, they brought in an arraneum girl. She was only for the circus shows, they couldn’t use her the same way that they did me. One night I seduced a drunk human, and he gave me the keys to my cage. I got myself and my friend out, and we ran up here into these mountains together. We got split up and... Well, I was hoping that she found her way here.”

“Her name?”

“Marie.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t say that she made it.”

“Ah...” Louise sighed. “But after that, I found a cave and lived in it. I could only barely remember how to hunt for myself at first, but soon I was able to feed myself. I met Blaise one day when we both found the same sick fawn... Marie was so scary as a person, and I’d been abused by so many men, I was horrified of him. But we decided to be hunting partners. The next spring, I went into heat and...”

“And he decided to mate you?”

“No-” Louise interjected. “It was my decision. He was so afraid that he kicked me in the stomach when I tried to kiss him, but I got him to settle down.” Face flushed, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “...I called on him to touch me all the time. For the first time in my life someone was touching me, and I could tell him that yes, I wanted him to do it, and it felt good. I’d never felt more powerful or more happy in my life. But when I figured out that he’d made me pregnant, I was scared again. I thought he’d beat me like the humans threatened to.”

Now Louise’s hands were on her face, wiping her eyes. “But... But I told him, and he said that I could decide if I wanted to be a mother or not. If I wanted to keep my eggs or crush them, it was up to me. And either way, he’d be happy.” She sobbed. “I got so big and fat that I couldn’t hunt for myself anymore, and every day he’d go out and catch food for me. He was so skinny because he wanted me to eat instead. Nobody had ever been so kind to me before, and when I finally did lay eggs...” She broke out into tiny sobs for a moment. “He told me that he’d fallen in love with me. And I realized that I had too.”

“Oh, goodness...” Erza put her hand over her mouth. “Go on?”

Louise hiccupped. “I had four eggs, and three hatched. Martin, Rosalie, and a little boy arraneum named Clovis. He didn’t make it through the winter. But even though he was so sad, Blaise picked the three of us and led us here. Last night, he said something about the gods and how sometimes people are meant to be together. And I think he was right, but now...” Pain tore at the loosely stitched wound in Louise’s heart. “Now I don’t know what to do without him... Please, if you’ll just take my babies and give them a good home, I’ll be happy. You can kill me or throw me back into the forest if you want, I don’t care. But please take them.”

Erza sat quietly, watching Louise sob as the grief of Blaise’s loss overtook her again. She approached the naga, wrapping her arms around her. “Poor thing... You’re only a child yourself. From what you say, the gods really did bring the two of you together. I’m so sorry for your pain.”

Louise coughed. “Thank you... I’m sorry, I wish I could have brought him home.”

“Now now, no need for apologies.” The matriarch told her. “I’m happy that Blaise was able to find and love a woman like yourself. Even though you’ve been touched by humans inside and out, I can see a good heart in you.” She pat Louise on the back, and pulled away.

“I was still a little thing when the boy’s grandmother came to us.” She looked off, recalling the memory. “A human woman came out of the forest with a newborn baby arraneum. ‘Please take my baby’ she begged us. ‘Take her, or the humans will see that she’s killed’. And so she was taken in by one of our own, nursed, and left to herself once she could hunt. We believed her to be infertile, until one spring she bore a clutch of eggs. Blaise hatched, and as he grew, the parts of his blood began to fight with one another. And so he left, to what we all thought was an early death.” She grinned at Louise. “And while he did die young, I feel like meeting you must have made his last few years heavenly. I promise you that he and your son both are waiting in paradise.”

Finally cleaning off her face with the back of her head, Louise nodded. “...Yeah.” She murmured. “So, will you take Martin and Rosalie? I’ll do anything for you to let them stay here, I’m-”

“All three of you are welcome.” The old woman grunted as she picked her body back off of the ground. “It’s quite obvious that you’ve come here looking for peace, and It’s no trouble to us if you take an empty nest for yourself and your children.”

Louise blinked, and then burst out in a grin. “Really? You’ll let us stay?” She was met with

a slow nod. “Oh thank you, thank you so much!” She reached out and took the woman’s hands, shaking them in her own.

Erza gave a silent nod. “I’ll have to introduce you to everyone else, though I’m sure by now the word’s gotten out.” With a flick of her wrist, the elder arraneum motioned for Louise to follow after her as she walked. Louise turned and trailed behind the matriarch, dodging webs here and there along the way. The woman led her back to a tiny patch of grass in the trees, just wide enough for Agatha and the pair of tiny naga to sit inside.

The younger arraneum’s head perked up, and she stood at attention. “Did you come to a decision?” She questioned, peering looking down at Louise.

“She and her children are welcome here. This naga has been through too great of a journey for us to keep pushing her along.” The elder explained.

“...I see.” Agatha murmured. With the end of her leg, she prodded Martin and Rosalie, pushing them back to their mother. “I’m sorry for treating you the way that I have, then. But with humans at the bottom of the mountain, you can never be too careful.”

Louise nodded her head silently. This time, Erza prodded her on the hip with her foot. Blaise had never been this forward with his feet, the naga thought to herself. But the arraneum also put a hand on her shoulder, a knowing sort of grin softening her face. “You don’t have to be so shy. You can live freely here, understand?”

“...Yes.” The naga replied. She corralled her two teary-eyed children around her sides again, then followed Erza and Agatha through the trees. Through the layers of leaves and wood ahead, Louise’s ears perked to the sound of voices. As the arraneum in front of her parted the way, Louise crept behind. She reached out, parting the leaves with a hand that shook along with them.

As she emerged, a chorus of gasps erupted from the arraneum standing there. Her tail seemed to jam, not wanting to move, but she had to press on and keep following the older woman that led her.

“Mommy...” Martin whimpered. Louise could only offer a shivering pat to his head, her own hunkered down into her shoulders as they passed the numbers of wide-eyed arraneum. In the thick of the crowd that had gathered, Erza stopped, pushing Louise and her children along in front of her. Now the voices had gone from whispers to bubbling, loud conversation.

Louise felt her heart begin to beat hard against the cage in her chest. Erza had started to say something to everyone, but she couldn’t hear it. Locked in her own head, she could feel sheer clothing sticking to her arms, trumpets blaring against the back of her skull, bright reds and yellows flashing beneath her eyes. Then, a gut-wrenching voice rolling against her eardrums.

“Everyone, meet Louise, the snake woman!”

Where a man’s voice should have been, a woman’s rang out, and Louise was rattled back out of her hallucination. Now the arraneum were smiling, waiting for a response from her. Louise flashed an awkward grin back, waving her hand back and forth.

“Hello...!” She meeped.

Suddenly, people began to crowd around her. Touching her scales, asking her questions, reaching out to stroke her hair. The naga moved back, only to be met with a wall of bodies springing her forward again. Martin and Rosalie had both been picked up, each of them bing coddled and ‘aaw’d’ at by different people.

“H-hey, I don’t think they-!” Louise was cut off as someone took her hand, examining the color of her skin. The people here weren’t quite so dark-skinned as her, but a great deal darker than Blaise had been. Now there were people interrogating her about her scars, shameless wandering fingers moving on her back.

Someone brushed a hand against her breast, and Louise snapped. Tongue curling out of her mouth, she hissed, baring her teeth to everyone in front of her. The crowd backed away, leaving Louise to heave in breath. Erza had been standing close, and she slowly reached out to touch the naga’s shoulder. Louise grimaced, and looked towards the grass in shame. “I’m sorry, I just... I’m overwhelmed.” She murmured to the elder.

“I understand.” The arraneum replied. “I’m sorry everyone, the poor girl’s tired. She travelled a whole month with her two children to make it here. Let her rest.”

With that, the curious hordes of arraneum backed off. Martin and Rosalie were quickly returned, clinging to Louise once more. Erza nodded at the three of them, and led them off again.

“There are a few extra dens that’ll suit the three of you just fine. I don’t think any of you’d prefer a web.” The old woman chuckled. Louise nervously laughed back, pushing along the toddlers at her side. “But, one just opened up near Agatha- you two have been introduced already, so you can stay there for the time being. It’s big enough to hold a woman and five children, so you’ll have plenty of room if you’d like to lay more.”

“Ah... Thank you.” Louise said. Erza led her to a hole in the ground, inviting Louise inside of it. The naga cautiously approached it, sliding down the dirt and down into the dark pit beneath. Despite its darkness, the den was cool, and drifted with a comforting scent. She heard more shifting against the den’s opening as Martin and Rosalie came to join her.

“It’s dark!” Rosalie peeped. “And there isn’t a bed in here, I’ll ask Daddy to make me on-” She stopped, and the other naga turned their heads away from her quietly.

“I’ll see if I can make a fur bed for us.” Louise murmured. She moved, having to crouch down as she pulled herself back up to the surface.

“Do you like it? Are the children comfortable?” Erza asked.

“Mhm. It’s perfect, I’ll just need to keep some furs to make a bed.” Louise replied. She gulped. “Listen... I can’t thank you enough for this. Blaise told me that his people were kind, but I never imagined anything like this.”

A hand came onto her shoulder one last time. The matriarch smiled at her again, sighing through her nose. “You’re a child of the gods just as I am. I don’t believe that anyone should have to be packed up into a box as you were. I hope you can spend the rest of your days here in peace, Louise. Blaise may be gone, but don’t worry- there are plenty of men and women here who’d be more than willing to treat you well.” She winked, and Louise flushed.

“Oh, no... I’m not really interested in anyone else right now.” The naga stammered. “But thank you.”

Erza laughed once again. “I understand how it is. Go on and rest, I’ll have someone bring meat out to you later on this evening.”

“Mm.” Louise nodded, slowly turning back into the den. With a heavy outward breath, she settled onto the floor. Martin and Rosalie quietly slithered up to her, and she could feel their heads resting on her tail. “It’s nice and comfy in here, isn’t it?” She murmured, but with no response.

“... I wish Daddy was here.” Martin whispered. A tiny sniffle followed. Louise’s heart sank, and she pulled the boy closer with the end of her tail.

“I do too.” She murmured back to him. “But things are going to get a whole lot better. I’m sure that you’ll make friends with all the other arraneum hatchlings. And it’ll be easier to get food, too.” She breathed the words of comfort to both of them, waiting for exhaustion to take them under sleep. Before she knew it, it had caught her too, and she blacked out into nothing.

 

Louise crawled up out of the den, rubbing sleepiness from her eyes. The arraneum around her had either gone off to drink and hunt, or remained asleep in their holes. She slithered forward, catching a sliver of blue out of the corner of her eyes.

Not far off from her, an arraneum stood. A blue tarantula, with violet curls that came down to tickle their shoulderblades. Giving an ecstatic cry, Louise darted at the person’s back. “Blaise!” She called out.

Turning around, the arraneum exposed breasts. The woman blinked at Louise, eyes wide with sudden confusion. The naga shook her head back and forth, stammering to come up with words of apology. She ran into another body behind her, squeaking as the person’s hand came to her shoulder. Whipping her head around, a man’s face- violet curls, gentle smile, round nose, but eyes that shimmered green instead of blue.

Louise grimaced, pushing the man away. As she ran away from him, more bodies began to crawl out from the trees, all variations of violet and cerulean meeting her. But something was different- a woman, a child, a pointed nose or a missing scar. She fell over, collapsing into the grass. Louise held her head, shrieking in agony as the dopplegangers began to close in on her.

“Mommy!”

Her head shot up again. She looked straight into the face of a child, clinging to its look-alike mother, itself the mirror image of her lost son. “...No, stop it...!” She coughed. Curling into herself, she hid away from the rows of clones that seemed to sprout from the trees. “Leave me alone, stop!” She cried out.

“Mommy!”

“Mommy!”

“Mommy!”

Louise trembled as the child’s voice pierced her brain. “Don’t to this to me...” She sobbed now, nose buried into the dirt to hide away.

“Mommy, wake up!”

The naga’s eyes shot open. She lay in the dark, her nose buried into the earthen floor of the den. Rolling over, she could feel the chill of cold sweat clinging to her skin. Only a dream, she thought. She slid her tail left and right, bumping Martin and Rosalie to be sure that they were still there. The sweat soaked naga closed her eyes again, thinking that it might be best if she slept just a little bit more.

“Mommy, get up, you gotta get up!”

Louise bolted off of the floor as the cry rolled in from her den. She blinked, and slithered towards the opening of the hole. Crawling back out, her eyes adjusted to the morning light. Cries drifted in from somewhere close, and she followed the echoing wails from her den.

Drawing near, Louise saw arraneum gathered around a single spot, deathly silent aside from the crying child. Her ears perked up when she caught sight of Agatha. Crawling through the grass, she shimmied her way up and beside the woman. Then, she turned her head towards the object of everyone’s attention. But, blocked by the backs of heads and shoulders, she had to raise her torso up higher to see.

A tiny gasp popped out of her throat. The source of the weeping came from a single child, a tiny arraneum clinging to the body of its mother. The woman lie still on the ground, eyes wide open, legs twisted together in knots that hardly looked possible. The hatchling cried over the body of his dead mother, and everyone looked on, as if waiting for something to happen.

Louise shrank down to Agatha’s height. “...What happened?” She breathed.

Agatha blinked, turning to acknowledge her. “Festered bite, I think. Fox or something must have gotten her on the leg.”

“...That’s terrible.” The naga replied in quiet. “What about her baby? What’s going to happen to it?”

Agatha cocked an eyebrow. “Baby? That’s a yearling at least, it can fend for itself. Doesn’t need its mother now that it can hunt on its own.”

Louise’s gut churned. Only a year old?, she thought. The thought of leaving Martin and Rosalie by themselves, all alone and tiny as they were... She shuddered. “What are you going to do with her?”

“One of her family will take her out in the woods and leave her for the vultures.” The other woman explained. “But first, they’ll say a prayer to the gods.”

“A prayer?”

“Yes. Some say it helps the soul find paradise.” She chuckled. “But I think it helps the people grieving more than anything. After all, the dead can’t hear a thing.”

Just as Agatha finished speaking, Louise turned to listen on the increased pitch of the wails. Then, they became muffled as someone pried the weeping child away from its mother. “...I guess you’re right.”

Agatha smiled at her. “Don’t worry about it, people come in the spring and leave with the fall around here. Just focus on staying happy while you’re alive.” She turned around, leading Louise away from the crowd. “Come on, someone caught a deer last night and had leftovers. You can take some for yourselves... And I hate to be the one to say it, but the three of you should bathe at some point too.”

Louise’s breath hitched in her throat. Looking at her arms and hands, she was filthy beyond the dust of the den. But she nodded, humming as she began to follow the other woman through the wood. But, she couldn’t help but take one peek back in the direction of the crying child. Shivering, she remembered the dream.

 

Louise and her children spent most of the day resting, eating, and introducing themselves to the other arraneum. True to Blaise’s word, they were friendly and open, though a little too forwardly curious about the lower half of her body. It was strange to see women being larger than men- their personalities contrasted the gender differences she’d become used to in humans. Some of the women stood on legs comparable to stilts. Martin and Rosalie were sheepish around the others their age, but they wouldn’t bond with them in a day for certain.

At the end of the long day, after she’d bathed and eaten, Louise slithered into her den once more. The darkness welcomed her heavy heart, the hole within its core throbbing with every beat. Dark fell slowly on the colony of arraneum, and Louise was hardly bothered by the whisper that crept in here and there. But, as the whispers died down, a low sob began to permeate the air. It became louder, rattling the walls of her den.

“Will somebody shut that thing up?!” Came a snap from out of another den nearby. Louise flinched, but slowly climbed out of her den. The cries drifted along the wind, guiding Louise through the dark. The source came out of a hollow den, amplified as it echoed out of dirt walls. The naga crouched down, peering into the hole.

“...Hello?” She called into the den. A hiccup greeted her. “Are you okay in there?” She continued, unable to see the source of the tiny voice.

“I want my Mommy...” The child inside groaned. Thoughts clicked in Louise’s head, and she frowned. The child from earlier was hidden down in the hole, likely all by itself.

“Ah... Why don’t you come out of that hole? Aren’t you lonely?” The woman cooed, trying to coax the hatchling out of hiding.

With the sound of tiny steps on dirt, the arraneum child peeked its head out from the den. Louise could just barely make out the colors of its black hair and tan fur in the darkness. And, from the looks of it, the child was a boy. He inched a little bit closer- then gasped. “You’re the snake!” He squeaked, starting to retreat back into his hole.

“Wait-” Louise called, and the child stopped. He turned back, lying down so that only his eyes peeked out from the entrance. “I’m a naga. But I’m not any different from arraneum, except for looks.” She murmured. “You know, I just lost someone that I love too.”

“You did?” The child piped up.

“Mhm. I lost the boy that I’m in love with. I also lost a baby not too long ago, either.”

The child whined. “Maybe my Mommy’s talking to them...”

“Maybe.” Louise smiled, lying down in the grass to make their eyes parallel. “But I’ve still got a little boy and girl just about your age. Their names and Martin and Rosalie. What’s your name?”

The boy sniffed. “I’m Adrian.”

“Do you have any brothers or sisters, Adrian?”

“No... I’m all alone...” The child whimpered, tears poking his cheeks again.

“You don’t have to be.” Louise slid closer, reaching out with one hand. “My den’s got plenty of room. Why don’t you come and sleep with us?”

Adrian looked up to her face, then her hand, like a feral dog wondering if it should take food from one’s hand. But a cold wind rolled over the grass, and he shivered. Adrian reached out, tiny hand grabbing Louise’s fingers. The naga reached out with her other hand, and as she stood, she picked the child up along with her.

“I’ll take you home with me.” Louise whispered, voice and eyes loving, even if the child couldn’t feel it. She began to carry him back to her bed, stroking his back through the grief-filled tears that leaked out of him.

Louise’s heart could never be free of the damages that loss and pain had left. But, a little patch over the soul did good. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Just in case it wasn't clear, Blaise isn't dead. Louise just thinks he is ;3c


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND SO PART 2 BEGINS....
> 
> Just a warning: this part of the story is considerably darker than the first. If there's any particularly offensive/triggering material contained, I'll leave a note at the top of the chapter. But overall warnings that there are ficitonal settings of physical and psychological abuse towards people and animals. Thanks for reading, and proceed with caution <3

Time passed. Blaise stumbled into consciousness for spans of only seconds, eyes rolling back, coughs leaping out of his dry throat. But then a stinging pain went shooting into his arm, and darkness came again. He couldn’t tell if he’d been out for minutes or days. But in his seconds-long bouts of consciousness, there were voices, two men whispering into his cotton filled ears. There was barely enough time to figure out the words- if they were even from a language that he could understand in the first place.

Blaise felt his mind slip from darkness and into waking. His body hadn’t quite caught up, however, and he sat there with his back to something cold. He waited for the voices and the stinging pain that would take him back into the blackness. However, after several moments, nothing came. No voice, no pain, nothing but the faint tingle of his muscles as they woke. His fingers and legs twitched at their ends, and his skin began to prickle from the chill beneath him. But, opening his eyes took everything he had, and he worked to pry his lids open to slits.

His eyes burned when they were exposed to the air, blurry vision slowly coming into focus. He stared up into grey stone, a smooth ceiling made up of something he couldn’t name. Allowing his head to roll to one side, Blaise examined the floor. Where he lay, the ground was shiny and smooth. After making a few bogged-down connections, he recognized the substance as metal. The shiny floor led to metal bars, extending up and into the ceiling. He rolled to look the other way. There were bars there as well, encapsulating him between metal and stone.

With a shuddering groan, Blaise called strength back into his limbs. Thankfully he had enough legs to hold his weight, but his torso proved much more of a challenge. For a moment his face was pressed into the metal below, elbows wobbling as he forced the top half of his body upright. A solid push sent him up, and though stumbling, he caught himself on the metal bars. Groggy, Blaise shook at them. Then, he found the door, shaking at it as well. The metal rattled, but didn’t give way to free him. A window had been carved out of the stone wall behind him- also closed off with metal bars. However, it was much too small for Blaise to cram himself through anyway.

“...Hello?” He croaked, voice more hoarse than he’d anticipated. “Is anyone out there?

I’m stuck in here!” His voice grew in pitch. Blaise’s body was lighting up with panic, and he grabbed hold of the bars to rumble them again. Back and forth he pushed and pulled the metal, kicking and pushing it to see if it would give way. Nothing above, nothing below, and no way of moving the metal. He panted, his heart seizing up in his chest. “Where am I?!” He wheezed, circling around the metal box. “Is anyone there?!” He cried once more, voice breaking.

“Boy, you’re beyond help now.”

Blaise’s head whipped around. He pedaled back to the opposite side of his box, eyes focused onto a cell next to his own. Without any window, the other box had become half-shrouded in darkness. But in the feeble light, Blaise could see the whites of two eyes. A foreleg jutted out of the shadows, as if made of darkness itself, and another followed. He remained frozen as the body exited the dark.

From the corner, a woman approached. Standing several heads above him, her striking yellow and black patterning made Blaise wonder how she’d ever merged with the shadows in the first place. A hard shell mixed with skin that had once been tanned by the sun, and hair yellow as a dandelion came down in a knotted patch overtop of it. Blaise met with a face made of matted hair, intense emerald eyes, and a cheek scarred with scratchmarks. She stared down at him, something like pity, and something like disgust written across the dirtied features.

Blaise felt the breath escape his lungs. The scar on his neck tingled, and he sank down to the floor. “...You...” He gasped.

“Me.” She stated, voice echoing off of the stone. “Looks like they found two needles in a haystack, then.”

“What do you mean?” Blaise sputtered. “Where are we? Why are you here too? I-I don’t understand, where’s my family at? Are they safe?”

“If you’ve got family, you’d best forget about them.”

“I don’t understan-”

“Do you even know what’s going on right now?” The woman spat. “To anyone you knew, you’re as good as dead. Don’t think that your life is going to be any better off because of those disgusting eyes and ears of yours. Mutts don’t get special treatment- you’d be lucky to be shoved in a clown costume.” She approached the bars of their shared wall. “You’ve been dragged into the human world, and lemme tell you, there ain’t no getting out.”

“...The human world?” Blaise breathed.

“Yes. And the circus, no less.”

Blaise’s heart skipped a beat. “The... The circus? This is the circus?” He questioned, peeping like a bird. It couldn’t be. Not THE circus, not the place that Louise had described, not the source of her marred body. She’d gotten away.

“That’s what I said, can you hear through those things?” She sneered at him, holding her nose up from the high spot where she stood. “It’s a place where humans gather animals to torture them.” She turned back to him, turning her nose down by a fraction of an inch. “But, since we’re likely about to be tortured together, my name’s Marie. I’m from a colony far to the west of here.”

Marie’s words crawled into ears that heard, but didn’t process. Blaise sat in a heap on the metal floor, panting, sweating with panic. With quivering knees, he stood up again, feebly rattling the cage. “This can’t be happening...!” He choked. “This can’t be real, let me out!” He shook harder, until dust fell from the stone ceiling. “Someone let me out of here, let me out, LET ME OUT!” He shrieked. He choked again when he came crashing into the wall between his and Marie’s cages. The woman held his hair in his fist, crashing his head repeatedly against the bars.

“You shut up!” She hissed. “Shut up, crying ain’t gonna help you now.” She’d pulled his head up closer to hers, his bruising nose nearly touching hers through the bars. “The sooner you accept that you’re not getting out of here before winter, the better off you’re gonna be. I’m not here to listen to your crying, do you understand me? Besides, if you keep up that racket, they’re gonna hear you.”

Blaise sniffed. “Who’s gonna hear me?”

At the end of the hall where their two cages sat, a booming sound rattled the walls. Marie’s eyes shot open, and she immediately released Blaise. The woman skittered back into her shadowed corner, but Blaise heard a whisper emerge from the dark. “It’s the ringmaster.”

With that, footsteps began to draw near. Solid patterns of one-two bounced off of the walls, bringing with it the silhouette of a human. The man came to stop in front of Blaise’s cage, staring him down with the eyes of a crow. Peering back, he took in his image. The human was small for a man, even by arraneum definition. However, His long, narrow nose pointed up as if he were seven feet tall. Blaise examined the clothing on his body, noting that while it may have appeared luxurious at one time, years had worn the fabric down to near tatters. Lines of age marked his face and his hands, and Blaise watched them drift to his pockets.

The ringmaster pulled two objects from his pocket. A silvery block, and something that Blaise could only compare to a long, brown cocoon. The human flicked back part of the metal object, and with a flick, a tiny flame spurted out from it. Blaise jumped, watching the human procure flame from nothing more than a block of metal. The man sneered at him as he went to ignite the end of the brown pod. Placing it between his teeth, he lit the opposite end, and wisps of  smoke began drifting from the end.

“Stupid creatures, aren’tcha?” The man spoke in a grizzly tone of voice, releasing smoke from his mouth. Blaise blinked, brows knitting together.

“Excuse me?” He asked, more than indignant in tone. He heard Marie shift, feeling her eyes settling on him as well. The human placed the burning stick back between his teeth, pulling a set of metal rods from his pocket. He inserted one of them into the door of his cage, and entered the box with Blaise. He stood with the cell wide open, a small obstacle between Blaise and freedom. But, just as Blaise moved, he pulled a new object from his back pocket. The light from the window bounced off of its surface, reflecting back into Blaise’s eyes.

The ringmaster rubbed the pistol between his fingers, then twirled it around them like a toy. “I’ve been told that you’re already well acquainted with one of these, yes?”

Blaise shrank down again, waiting until the ringmaster descended on him. Even as small has he stood, now he peered down at the cowering arraneum, playing with the gun at a whim. Then, he pointed it at Blaise’s head, causing him to shrink down farther. Blaise shivered, heart pounding, feeling like he’d die at any moment.

“State your name, boy.” The ringmaster demanded in a slow drawl.

“I-It’s Blaise.” The arraneum stammered. “Blaise.” He repeated again.

“Right. Now listen here- y’all can speak the human language; but I won’t be fooled into

thinking that you’re anythin’ but a beast. You answer to any human that commands ya, or you’ll be answering with lashes.”

Blaise gritted his teeth, breathing hard. Pulling his tongue back, he spat at the human, staining his shirt with saliva. “Fuck you.” He hissed, his anger less apparent in the way that his body continued to tremble.

The ringmaster blew a cloud of smoke into Blaise’s face. The arraneum coughed as the noxious fumes penetrated his lungs. While he choked on the rotten air, the human withdrew his gun, and replaced it with a long cord that had been looped in his belt. As Blaise looked up again, the ringmaster drew a leather cord taut in his hands, creating a loud snapping sound. Blaise tried to push himself back farther as the whip was drawn back up into the air, and he only caught the gleam of the leather before it came flying down onto his back. Blaise screeched, spasming in pain as the whip lashed his skin with a sick smack.   
“You gonna back-talk me again?” The ringmaster asked, holding up his whip with a hand of steel. “Sass me one more time, I dare ya!” He bellowed, blue eyes wild with sunlight.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Blaise shrieked in apology, balling up on himself.

“You’re sorry what?!” The ringmaster slapped the whip against the metal floor.

“I-I’m sorry Sir!” Blaise whined again.

Shoulders relaxing, the human brought his whip down slowly. “That’s better.” He stated, his voice melting back into a steady drawl. “The quicker you learn respect, the longer you’re gonna make it around here.” Tapping the end of his cigar, the man threw away the butt into a corner. He turned his head towards the corner that Marie had pressed herself into. “Lemme give you a quick example.” He exited Blaise’s cage, moving into the next one over. Marie shrank down at the tiny man’s feet- then stood with the flick of his wrist. The ringmaster waved his forefinger up, silently commanding the arraneum woman to stand on six legs, then four, and then on a quivering pair. Marie’s head nearly touched the ceiling as she shivered on two legs, the thin limbs strained by the weight of her entire body.

“Stop it!” Blaise cried out. “I’ll listen, don’t make her do that, I’m sorry!” He apologized again; his eyes flicking back and forth between the ringmaster’s wicked smile and Marie’s gritted teeth. A snap of the human’s fingers was shortly followed by the thud of Marie’s legs falling against the metal floor.

“That’s a good girl.” The ringmaster turned on his heel, sliding Marie’s cell locked and closed. He began to return to the end of the hall from where he’d come, spinning keys on his finger. “Justin’ll be in shortly. He’ll be the one in charge of makin’ sure that the both of ya don’t starve. You had best not bite the hand that feeds.”

He said nothing more. Blaise hiccupped as his cage was closed and locked once more, and the ringmaster tapped his feet down the hallway, closing the door with another boom. The arraneum sobbed in a heap, holding the welt where he’d been struck.

Marie huffed. “...Moving day’s in two days. Go ahead and cry until then.” She told him, showing the first sign that she felt any pity towards the other arraneum. Blaise coughed, lifting his head just enough to meet her eye.

“Moving day...?” He asked.

“That’s when we start the show season. They’ll cart us all around the country on a train and make us perform in front of other humans. I’m a dancer, but I can’t say for sure what they’ll have you doing. I’d just as soon guess that they’ll train you for a few weeks.” She explained. “But remember, you’re an arraneum, not a dog.”

Before the conversation could carry on further, another thud came from the end of the hallway. Blaise flinched, but his ears perked to the sound of a very different pair of footsteps. He raised his head toward the sound, the shape of a new person soon coming into the light. He carried a bucket in each hand, clinking metal mixing with his footsteps.

The human man came into focus, allowing Blaise to better make out his features. The keeper couldn’t have been much older than himself, if not the same age. His hair had been cut to less than an inch, outlining the square shape of his head. Blue eyes flicked towards Blaise, and they widened. Outside, clouds drifted out of the sun, illuminating the human’s face.

Blaise shot off of the floor of his cage, wrapping his hands around the bars. His eyes wildly scanned the man’s face, taking in his features. He flashed back to the sight of the gaunt human that he’d met stranded in the forest. “...Justin?” The arraneum breathed.

Shoulders tensed, Justin stepped back. “Listen, you stay back, you hear?” He warned the arraneum. Blaise shook his head, rattling the bars.

“Justin, it’s me!” Blaise cried out. “Don’t you remember when you were lost in the forest last year? When I showed you the way home?”

The human lowered his shoulders, and Blaise’s face lit up with a grin. “You have to remember, I saved your life back then! You’ll let me out of here, won’t you?”

Justin avoided Blaise’s eye. Without a word, he stepped forward to dump some kind of raw meat through the bars of each cage. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

Blaise’s grin sank down again. “It’s me... You got lost trying to hunt for deer, and you couldn’t find your way back. I thought it would be better to kill you, but I let you go home, remember? I even made a net for you so you’d have food to eat!”

Justin picked up his pair of buckets, turning his back to the arraneum. Blaise shook the bars, hair flying around his face as he became more frantic. “Justin!” He cried. “I know it’s you, please, I saved your life! Are you just gonna leave me in this box?!” Still silence.

Blaise felt his stomach bubble. His face grew red, and rage poured out from his chest. “You evil MOTHERFUCKER!” He shrieked, rattling the cage until dust fell from the ceiling. “I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you and all the rest of you disgusting humans, I hate you!” His knuckles turned white with his grip over the bars. “I’ve got a lover, I’ve got two children, they need me!”

A thud vibrated against the walls as the door closed once again.

The bars squeaked as Blaise crumpled down to the floor. “They need me... They need me, please...” He sobbed, and the loneliness echoed back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading, here are some tissues :3


	34. Chapter 34

Blaise hardly slept. He spent the night on the cold metal, tossing around with no cushioning other than a pile of straw. The concrete walls provided a sturdy enough foundation for a web hammock, but Blaise had neither the will or the strength to make a bed.

Wind nipped at him from the open window, the whispering air joined by organic sounds crawling down the hall. Marie had informed him that they weren’t the only ones held in this neck of the building- however, their cages were blocked off from some of the others. To make matters even worse, she’d told him that the floor was the only place to relieve themselves, resulting in an unpleasant cloud of odor that milled about the room. He rolled and turned through the night, waking up to pace around himself, cry, and try to sleep again.

Morning light wafted in through the hole in the wall. Blaise pushed himself up on sore arms, groaning at the sight of dawn. He hoped that Louise and the children were all sleeping in together, tucked away in a nice den underground. The arraneum’s fingers travelled to his necklace. “I’ll get out of this...” He murmured. Blaise sighed inwardly at the ache of his body. Maybe refusing to eat had been a bad idea. Now that he thought about it, the last thing he’d eaten was likely to have been fish on the last morning that he saw Louise.

Blaise tip-toed up to the window, staring up at a thin sliver of sky. He pressed his forehead to the wall, clasping his hands together. When he couldn’t stand anymore, he knelt, keeping his hands together and his eyes closed in thought. Eventually the room flooded with light, and Marie shuffled beside him.

“Mmm... The hell are you doing? Did you fall asleep sitting up?” She questioned him, voice raspy with sleep.

“I’m praying.” Blaise replied, finally turning his head away from the wall. His forehead had turned red with indentation from the stone.

“Praying?”

“Mhm.” Blaise looked out of the window again. “The gods’ve answered most of my prayers so far. Maybe they’ll give me the strength to get out of here.”

Marie tutted. “The gods can’t see you in here, we’re surrounded by a foot of concrete on every side.”

Blaise pointed up at the window. “I can see the sky from here, which means there’s still a chance. I’ll pray for you too, if it makes you feel any better.”

The woman picked a bucket from the floor, drinking from it. As she finished, she let out a sigh. “They gave up on me a long time ago. If the gods wanted me to be happy, then I wouldn’t have ended up back here.”

Blaise frowned. “I’ll think of something. We’ll make it out, and we’ll go back to my colony together.” He offered the empty assurance to her.

“You’re stubborn for a man.” Marie huffed. “In fact, you kind of remind me of someone I used to know.”

“Do I?” Blaise cocked his head to the side, momentarily lifted by the smalltalk.

“Yeah, but she wasn’t exactly an arr-”

Marie’s words were cut short as a bang resounded at the end of the hall. Blaise came close to jumping out of his own skin, instinctively huddling towards the back of his cage. He didn’t have any shadow to retreat into. From the footsteps, he could already tell that it wasn’t the ringmaster. He heard sloshing as buckets were emptied, and rage flared back up into his gut again.

Marie shuffled towards the divide between their cages. “How do you know him?” She whispered. “The keeper. He doesn’t say much to me at all.”

Blaise looked over his shoulder, and then back to her. “He got lost out in the mountains about a year ago. I showed him the way out.” He hushedly replied. “He would’ve starved to death without me.”

“Just goes to show you, they’re rotten.” Marie hissed below her breath. She turned back from the dividing bars as footsteps approached their block.

Justin appeared in front of them, carrying buckets of meat that Blaise still couldn’t identify. Entrails were dumped out onto the floor of his cell, but Blaise didn’t let his gaze linger in that direction long enough to examine them. He kept his head turned away from Justin as he deposited their breakfast and water, shuffling around without so much as a ‘good morning’ to either him or Marie. But, as it looked that he was turning to leave, he stopped in front of Blaise’s cage.

“Boss’ gonna take you out into the ring today. Be on your best behavior, or you’re gonna end up paying for it.” The human stated. When no reply came, he turned on his heel and exited the hall.

Marie sighed. “He’s right. The ringmaster’s probably going to figure out where you go in the show. They’ll probably toss a choker on you too, so don’t try anything funny.”

Blaise gulped. “A choker?”

“It’s a collar that’ll cut into your neck and choke you if you pull on it too much. The less trouble you make, the easier it’s gonna be.” She explained. “I’m curious though... They’ve never had a man holed up in here before. I doubt they’re going to doll you up and have you dance. But you’re not really cut out to be a clown or a trapeze either. They’ll have to make up something new for you.”

“What exactly do they do to you here, besides keep you in a cage?” Blaise asked.

Marie stepped over to her food, picking the meat up from off of the floor. She tore off a section of the innards, smacking her teeth together while she chewed. “We perform in front of humans. Hundreds of them sit in a big circle around us, and then we do something to make them feel amazed. The ringmaster and Justin get paid for it, and so do all of the other humans working around here.”

“I still don’t understand. Paid? In what?”

Marie rolled her eyes. “For a mixed breed, you sure don’t know anything about how humans work. I thought they’d plucked you out of a zoo or something.” She took another bite. “Money’s this green stuff that humans trade for food and tools. Since they eat meat and plants, they farm instead of hunting to survive. Besides that, they do work for one another, and then they’re given money. And the more money you have, the more powerful of a person you are.”

Blaise grimaced. “And that’s why we’re in here? So they can get money?”

“You got it.” Marie gulped down her food. “You gonna eat that?” She pointed at his food, beginning to attract flies on the ground. Blaise shook his head no. “Hand it to me then.”

Obeying, the man scooped up his breakfast from the ground. He approached the bars to hand it to Marie, placing the cold innards into her hand. But, a thank you never came, and he was smashed against the bars again.

“H-!” Blaise gasped as he was beaten against the cage again. He writhed and pulled at Marie’s grip, choking as he shoved meat into his mouth.

“Eat it.” She told him. Blaise spat the meat out onto the floor, and she growled. “I told you to fucking eat it!” She commanded. Blaise was forced to swallow, coughing on the meat. “If you want the gods to listen to you, then you’d better stop wasting good meat! Swallow it!” She shoved more into his mouth, ears pinned back.

“Mnn-! I’ll eaf, I’ll eat!” The man felt food slide down his spasming throat again, and his face left the cold steel of the bars.

“Good.” Marie tutted, tossing the rest of the meat back onto his side. Begrudgingly, he knelt down to eat and drink.

A couple of long, tense hours passed. Blaise passed a few words along with Marie, circling around his cage in an aimless search for escape. Beyond that, he had no idea what other kinds of creatures lie on the other end of the hall. He could hardly recognize the grunts and squeaks that drifted in from the other side of the concrete divide. A human voice could be heard every so often, coming in the form of a whisper too far off to understand.

The door boomed, and pieces of metal clinked together as someone marched down the hall. Blaise pressed himself into the back of his cell as the sight of two men met him. Both of them towered almost at Marie’s height, muscles rippling flesh. Blaise gulped as he took in their color, skin dark as if they’d burned alive. One of the pair unlocked his cage and entered wordlessly as the second remained outside. He held a metal collar in his hands, sharp spines glimmering in the sun that filtered through Blaise’s cage. He shrank down further into the corner, fur standing, teeth bared behind quivering lips.

Blaise had one of two choices- strike, or cower. For a brief second, his mind drifted towards the prior, but then he remembered Marie’s advice. The more he complied, the easier that it would be to escape. So he remained still, body tensed as the steel ring was fastened around his neck. The spines grazed the sensitive flesh of his neck, threatening to puncture his skin with even the slightest outward tug. The black-skinned man rattled the chains that held Blaise to the collar, urging him up before he pulled.

With a flip of his belly, Blaise stood, cautiously following after the human. The second man walked a few steps behind the arraneum, sandwiching Blaise between the pair. A bead of sweat rolled down Blaise’s back as they drew closer to the other cages. He slowed a bit, examining the array of creatures that he couldn’t hope to name. A bird that stood to his shoulder, a black-and-orange cat that dwarved any cougar he’d seen, and furry things with bodies and faces eerily resembling humans.

The sting of spikes poking against his skin came as the man tugged at his leash. Blaise crawled on forward, exiting the concrete hallway for another. The walls weren’t lined with cages, though the occasional door closed off the entry to an unknown room. The arraneum’s head tilted up towards the ceiling- balls of light were attached to the stone, illuminating the hall. Jaw hanging open, he gawked at the nearest sphere until he was led away once more.

Blaise was led along through the maze-like series of halls, finally coming to a large wooden doorway. The human in the back passed them, pushing open the heavy panels of wood. A humongous circle of dirt lie outside, closed in by a ring of faded red and yellow wood. Behind the wood were countless rows of aged seats, lined up in rows that circled about the ring and rose to higher and higher levels. Where the seats finally tapered away, the walls were crafted from cloth. They came to a massive peak above Blaise’s head, held up by a massive wooden log.

The door was shut behind him, and from the sound of the chains, Blaise could sense that the grip on his leash had relaxed. Scanning the wide room further, Blaise spotted a small cluster of humans sitting together. The ringmaster, along with a few other men that he hadn’t come into contact with. He was led along towards them, and prompted to stop.

The ringmaster hopped out of his seat, legs short enough that his feet hardly touched the ground while in the chair. “As you can see,” The man started. “He’s in prime condition. A bit feral yet, but that’s nothing that can’t be solved with a bit of work on our end.”

Blaise remained still as the squat little man walked up to him, patting his foreleg. “And with this exotic color, he’s sure to make for an eye-catching display.”

“Yes, but what can it do?” One of the humans asked, reclining in his seat with eyes that read nothing but impatience. Blaise cocked his head at the sight of his face, some kind of structure seated on his nose and ears, glass panels covering each eye. “How do you expect us to invest in your half-rate act if THIS is supposed to be your next headliner? It’s just some spider-man you plucked out of the mountains!”

Another human interjected. “And look at the thing, it’s not even full-blooded! It’s a half-breed with a human!”

Banter popped up between the group of me. Blaise cringed at the use of ‘half-breed, gulping down the stone of anxiety in his throat.

“I can do more than that...” He meeped. Silence fell among the humans, and they came to watch him as he pulled web out from his abdomen. “I can make all kinds of things out of my webs.” He pulled more into his hand, looping the strand up and over his shoulder. Another followed, and he hastily spun a thin imitation of human clothing over his own torso. “If I had a little more time, I might be able to make clothes that are really nice.” He shuffled nervously in place as the humans gawked at him.

One of the men stood up. “And better off, the thing’s a seamstress! Why don’t you sell him to a sweatshop, at least we’d turn back a penny!”

The ringmaster grunted, and pulled a white stick from his pocket. He turned around, facing one of the men that had escorted Blaise into the room. “Bring me a goat.” He snarled, once again using some object to ignite the stick between his teeth. The dark man nodded, exiting the room through the same door that he’d come.

The rest of them stood in tense silence as he went to retrieve the goat. Blaise’s anxiety heightened. What was a goat? Was it a kind of gun? Something that would be used to beat him? He waited with sweat weighing down the tips of his hair. When the doors opened again, he cringed, eyes closed for fear of what might have crossed through with the human. When he allowed them open again, he relaxed, taking in the sight of a small animal. It looked like it might have been related to a deer, small, hooven, and bearing two horns on its head.

By now, the humans behind the ringmaster had taken their seats once again. Intrigued, they watched the goat as it was pulled along to the center of the ring and released from its leash. With the clank of metal, Blaise was released as well. Whispers crossed between the group of men again. Slowly, the ringmaster approached Blaise.

“You see that?” He pointed to the animal. It shuffled about the floor, sniffing the lifeless dirt for a tuft of grass. Blaise nodded wordlessly, and the human breathed vile smoke from his nose. “Kill it.”

“...Kill it?” Blaise questioned. “Why should I kill it? It doesn’t have anywhere to run.” He began to pull off the web he’d spun over himself while he spoke, letting it drift to the ground.

“I told you to kill it.” The human repeated.

Blaise straightened his back, glaring down at the ringmaster. “No.” He spat back. A few of the men shook their heads in their chairs, staring at little shiny things on their wrists.

The ringmaster’s fists balled at his side. “I ain’t gonna tell you again.” He growled, and Blaise kept his head held up.

Until the man drew a gun.

Blaise backpedaled, watching the small human raise his pistol with the barrel towards the sky, pulling the trigger. Shrieking with terror, Blaise fell back into the dirt. The goat had scrambled as well, kicking up dust with his hooves in a horrified circle. The arraneum’s head whipped back towards the ringmaster, staring into the hellish expression as smoke filtered from his nose.

Skittering to stand, Blaise rose to his feet. The gun went off again, and he yelped, nearly drowned out by the bleat of the goat. His head whipped around towards the scrambling animal, and then back to the gun. His heart beat fast in his chest, fear overtaking him, and his legs pushed off of the ground.

Tearing up the dry earth beneath him,  Blaise chased after the goat, desperately searching to sink his teeth into its neck before the next gunshot went through his. He followed at the heels of the animal, circling around in the dirt until he could hardly breath in the cloud of dust. Frantically he made a lunge at the animal, slowing it down beneath his weight. He took his hands to the animal’s throat, his ears ringing from the gunshots.

_“The gods can’t see you in here.”_

Marie’s voice echoed in through his aching ears as he snapped the animal’s neck, bringing its last tortured shriek to an abrupt halt.

Blaise heaved in his breath, still sitting on top of half of the animal’s body. The world around him suddenly settled back in, and he cowered once more at the foot of the ringmaster. Turning back to face the group of humans, he observed the man replacing his gun to his side.

The ringmaster tapped the end of his burning stick, ashes fluttering down to land beside his feet. “It’ll do what a meat-eater does best.” He stepped forward and with his back to Blaise. “Mindlessly killing anything in front of it, sinking its teeth into anything that’ll bleed on its tongue-” The human held his hand out, burning stick falling from his mouth. “HE, is Blaise! The terrible killing machine!”

Silence met the human’s dramatic announcement.

“...Blaise the terrible.” One of the men muttered. A grin crossed his bewildered face, and he leapt up out of his chair. “Blaise the terrible!” He exclaimed again. “I like it! He’ll be like a lion straight out of the roman colosseum!”

“I can practically see their faces now, blown away by the power of god’s creatures!” Another of them cried out. He marched up to the ringmaster, forcibly taking the man’s shriveled hand in his own. “You’ve got yourself a deal- I’d be proud to invest in your show!” He began pulling an object out of his pocket, and then what Blaise recognized as a pen. The group of men scrambled up out of their chairs, circling around the ringmaster like vultures to a carcass.

Blaise scooped the dead goat up off of the ground, holding the animal’s lifeless body to his chest. He examined the creature’s face, head lolling to the side. Did it need to die? He asked himself. Was this what the gods had planned? Would the world be any better because he’d been forced to kill this animal? His heart sank further and further down into the pits of his gut. Fearing that he’d broken the biggest rule that could have been shattered, Blaise clutched the animal tighter.

He knelt in the dirt, only shaken from his trance when the metal collar found its way to his shoulders once more. He held tight to the carcass, but the human on the end of his leash made no attempt to confiscate the creature from him. The man tugged at Blaise again, carrying his body forward by the chains.

Blaise was promptly returned to his cell, allowed by the human to keep his kill. The door was locked, and Blaise fell back down to his knees.

Beside him, Marie’s head perked up. “...’s that a goat?” She drawled after having woken from a nap. “Shit, what’d you do? Spin up dollar bills for him? Fresh meat is hard to come by around here.” She hopped out of her web, sniffing the air.

“I killed it.” Blaise muttered.

“Ah?” Marie mused. “So, what’d they do?”

“He told me to kill it. I didn’t want to.” The arraneum man whined. “Marie, what’s happening? I don’t want to kill things if they don’t need to die, is doing this a sin?” He choked back more tears.

“...” Marie was silent. Then, she sighed. “Did he make you do it?”

Blaise nodded slowly.

“If he forced you, then it’s no fault of yours. Just eat it, and you’ll be alright.” For the first time, she offered a scrap of condolence to him. “Killing may end up being the only thing you’ve got left to remind you that you’re an arraneum.”

With a sniffle, Blaise tore open the belly of the goat. 


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp  
> here's this

Blaise woke to the rattle of chains. His eyelids rose slowly, heavy despite a full night’s sleep. The jingling of one metal thing was quickly followed by the crashing of another, then a bark and a curse from someone’s mouth. Blaise pushed his torso up from the floor. A breeze flew in through the end of the hall, making him swallow down the following stench. He tilted his head towards Marie’s cage. He watched her pace, holding bundles of web that she’d striped from the walls of her box.

“What’s going on?” Blaise rasped while pulling himself into a sitting position. He twitched as a clanging noise bounced down the hallway. Marie peered down at him, folding her webs neatly over one arm.

“It’s moving day.” She replied. The woman twirled one finger in her hair, and Blaise could only guess that she felt anxious.

“...Moving day? Where are we moving to?” He continued to question. He knew that the other arraneum had mentioned the date a few times before; but not if she’d ever explained what it entailed.

“All over the country. I’m not sure where we start this year. But either way, we won’t be coming back here for a few months.” The other arraneum explained. Blaise’s eyes peeled open further, glued to her dull expression.

“Months? How far away are we going?” He stood up, grabbing the bars between their cells. “I can’t be gone that long!”

Her gaze flickered towards his for a second. “So did I, ten years ago.” She shook her hair out over her shoulders. “There’s nothing that can be done about it now. If you were going to escape, then your only chance would have been last night. For now you’ll just have to ride out a show season. Try all you want to escape after that.”

Blaise shook his head. “I can’t do that! Marie, I have two kids, I’ve got a lover!”

“And as far as they all know, you’re dead.” Marie cut across his words, and Blaise stopped. His shoulders fell, hands sliding down the bars and falling to his sides.

She had a point. Louise would have looked for him, and then moved on with the assumption that he’d been eaten. Blaise gulped at the sudden realization that he could die here- and nobody would ever know what had happened to him. He would be trapped in the human world forever. His stomach churned. Every few seconds here made him want to vomit all over again, it would seem. But, he also felt afraid that Marie would shove anything that he coughed up back down his throat again.

He leapt out of his trance as one of the cage doors creaked open. To his right, Marie stood still- human hands securing a collar around her throat. He noted that she’d been spared of the spines on the inside of her metal ring. Another creak, and his head shot in the opposite direction. He skittered back at the sight of the human at the door of his cage, metal ring in one hand, rope of chains in the other.

Blaise took a deep breath, and relaxed. He approached the human with his head hung, stopping to allow the metal band to be dropped onto his shoulders. With a click the lock fell into place, and Blaise was immediately urged along. The man carted him along behind Marie and her handler, down past empty cages and into the network of concrete hallways. They turned one way, then the other, and then towards a hall filled with light. Blaise’s heart skipped a beat at the prospect of sunlight, being led straight into the warmth of the sun.

Light hit Blaise like a blast of hot fire, licking at his sun-deprived flesh. His pupils shrank, adjusting to the bright wave of sunshine. He closed them for a second, and then opened them once again, taking the second of blindness to cherish the grass under his feet.

Something boomed. Blaise’s eyes flew open once again, and he was met with the sight of something looming ahead of them. Describing the looming mass of metal was nearly out of his mind’s reach. What he could only think of as a gargantuan caterpillar sat on a mound of stones, still save for the plumes of noxious black smoke that it breathed. Blaise took a step back, feeling the metal inside his collar nick at his neck. The human holding him stopped, squinting at Blaise with his upper lip curled. The human holding Marie stopped as well, turning back.

“Hey, what’sa matter?” He barked at Blaise’s handler.

“I think he’s scared of the train.” The other replied. “Thing probably ain’t ever seen of em before.”

“He’ll get over it, just come on and get these two loaded up. We’ve gotta be in Gatlinburg tomorrow morning.”

Blaise dug his feet into the ground as his handler tugged, nicking him again with the sharp inside of the collar. The arraneum wheezed, the sound of compartments opening and closing on the ‘train’s’ body vibrating against his eardrums. His eyes slid in the other direction, and his head turned towards the sun. It stood over the mountains, illuminating the trees’ new leaves. He shook his head, turning, pushing off of the dirt.

Pain burst in Blaise’s neck as the spikes in his collar dug into it.  He tried to move forward, pushing his legs into the grass with the human dragged along behind him. He bolted a few feet forward before another weight was added to the first, and he shrieked from the pain of the spikes boring into his flesh. He fell forward, slamming against the earth. He felt his body being pulled back, ears filled with curses and shouts. He dug his nails into the earth, desperately trying to pull himself even an inch further.

“Let me go!” He shrieked. “I have to go home, I have to see my family, they need me!” He howled, being pulled up by the hair. Blindly he scratched at the hand that held his hair, snapping his teeth until his eyes slipped open.

The sight of his own hand extended out caught him, nails hovering just inches away from scarred flesh. Marie’s green eyes cut into him, scowling fiercely enough to melt his determination. Blaise’s hand fell from her face, and he was forcibly pushed towards the train. The humans picked up his leash once more, and Blaise trudged behind without another word. As blood began to drip over his chest, he looked to the mountains again, blinking away tears from the pain and the grief.

His legs quivered as they were both led up to the metal beast. A door opened, and the thing had no kind of organs to speak of inside- only a metal box, fixed with straw, as well as a ramp for them to walk into it. Marie stepped up to the wood ramp without second thought, entering the box without complaint. Blaise tested the wood, then slowly crawled up it, disturbed by the train’s pulse as he entered. He and Marie’s collars both were removed. Then the box was closed, and a lock placed over the door. The two arraneum sat in silence, unseparated by bars and chains for the first time.

“I could kill you right now.” Marie huffed. “You’re an idiot, do you know that?” She approached him, poking her finger in the man’s face. “That little stunt could have had you put down faster than a horse with a broken leg! What were you thinking?!” She snapped. Blaised looked at his feet.

“...I just wanna go home. I miss-” He was cut off by a shriek, a high pitched noise that rattled the entire train. Blaise jumped, running to the locked door of the compartment. Marie pulled him back again, throwing him against the opposite wall. The train began to rattle all around them, lurching forward with a sickening bellow.

Blaise stood backed into the corner, Marie descending on him with her nose turned up in disgust. Flashbacks from their winter encounter flashed behind Blaise’s eyes, heart picking up when she pinned him to the steel. He looked away, and golden hair fell close enough to his nose to make it tingle.

“All I want is to see Louise again.” He confessed. And, suddenly, she backed away. Blaise pulled his head out from between his shoulders, looking to the bewildered woman across from him.

“Louise?” She questioned, voice raised over the sound of the train. It felt like the machine had taken fight beneath their feet, and all of this like a dream Blaise couldn’t wake from. But Marie kept him glued to reality. “Louise the naga?” She asked, and Blaise blinked.

“Yes, a naga named Louise.” He replied, and a key in his mind clicked in its lock. “Wait- you’re the same Marie that she was kept with?!” He gasped, taking a step forward. “But she told me that you escaped with her!”

“I did.” Marie shot back. “Why do you think I was wandering around those woods all by myself? I thought that she was dead! You mean to tell me that’s who was holed in up in that cave with you?”

Blaise nodded quickly. Marie sighed, running a hand through her hair. She placed her wad of cobwebs onto the ground, using to sit her abdomen on. “Well, shit.” The woman muttered. “That’s amazing. I can’t believe she didn’t kill you, first of all. And second of all, I can’t believe she fucked you.”

The man’s face went flush. “Well, you were going to if you could have!” He sputtered. Marie looked him up and down, nostrils flared with disgust.

“Honey, that’s because you were my only option.” She retorted. Then, she settled down further into her makeshift bedding. “Come on then. It’s a long trip, you might as well tell me what happened with the two of you.”

Blaise hummed, and sat down. “We were just about to live together with my colony. I was going back after running away because I was so afraid of a woman eating me. But I wanted our children to have a better future than that.”

“What did those little abominations turn out to be? Caterpillars?” Marie interjected.

“No, no of course not!” Blaise shot back. “They were all normal, two naga and an arraneum.”

Marie blinked. “You mean you had three, then?”

Blaise’s breath caught in his throat. “Ah, we did have three. Now there are two.” He paused, and swallowed. “... My son, the arraneum, didn’t make it through the winter.” He murmured. Blaise realized that while he’d only just been grieving for the boy days ago, he’d not thought about him at all since being captured. Suddenly the feeling washed over his shoulders again.

For a moment, Marie showed some semblance of pity. “Ah... That’s always disappointing.” She told him. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t had the opportunity to have some of my own.” She commented. “Anyway, I want to know more than that. Tell me everything.”

With a heavy sigh, Blaise nodded his head.

He started with leaving the arraneum, feeling the train heat up with the noon sun as time passed. Marie didn’t offer much response, aside from a quiet ‘mhm’ between pauses. He continued on to meeting Louise, feeling his mouth become dry. Along the way they stopped for food and water. He ate and drank, regretting the decision later on when his stomach began to toss with the movement of the train. But his sore stomach aside, Blaise continued talking. He recounted everything, from the first time he’d felt something more than friendship towards the naga, to the night where he thought she’d die from giving birth. The sun began to set, and the two of them shared a long period of silence once Blaise recounted his son’s last moments.

Night came, and Blaise’s eyes were bleary throughout the rest of his story. He found the events of his nightmares just before being captured spilling out of his mouth as well, something he’d not even told Louise. After that there was little more to tell, and he became quiet again.

“... I’m sure she’s safe with the other arraneum. Your kids too. I don’t think they’d be turned away.” Marie told him. Then, she reached out to his grasp the man’s shoulder. “You’ll see her again. You have more hope left than I do. Just keep that hope until the show season is over. Then we’ll escape, and go back to your colony.”

“...Don’t you ever want to go home, Marie?” Blaise asked. “What about your colony? Don’t you have people waiting for you to come home?”

The woman shook her head. She managed to smile, though the expression came off bittersweet. “It’s been ten years since I was captured. There’s nothing left there for me now. My parents are dead and all of my childhood friends are grown up. It would be better for me to start off someplace else.”

“They’d like you there!” Blaise piped up, and Marie’s eyes widened. “They really would, you’d fit right in with the other girls, Marie! And if you wanted, you’re still young enough to have children too. I know Martin and Rosalie would make friends with them. And Louise would love to see you again.”

Marie chuckled. “Maybe.”

“Maybe’s not an option. It’s definitely.” Blaise replied. “We’ll be free again for sure.”

“I trust you’ll keep your promise, boy.” Marie yawned. “Your first show is tomorrow. The best thing you could do is not fuck it up.” She stood up and fluffed her webs out, lying down with her belly to the metal.

“I’ll do my best.” Blaise assured her. He didn’t expect to get any sleep with the rattling around him, but he pulled up a meager bed of straw, lying on his side. He could see the world flying past through the cracks in the steel, and he watched until the world became dark again.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Any possible feedback is appreciated, particularly constructive in nature, as this is my first major original piece and I understand that it's probably a little rough around the edges. Updates should come soon, so please subscribe~!


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